Makers of luxury and sports cars in the Midlands have helped the region enjoy the fastest economic growth in the UK, according to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.

Among the big high-end brands based in the region is Aston Martin, which builds models such as the Vulcan and Vantage GT12 at its site in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

Jaguar Land Rover operates two sites in the West Midlands. It builds the F-type sports car in its Castle Bromwich plant (among other models) and the XE at its site in Solihull. The XE will be the first Jaguar car to be built at the site, which also produces Land Rovers and Range Rovers.

According to UHY Hacker Young, the Midlands is home to the top five best-performing zones in the UK.

Demand for new cars is continuing to rise across the country, with 492,774 new vehicles registered in March – the highest figure since 1998. However, despite strong domestic demand, UK-based manufacturers sell most of their products overseas; for instance, 80 per cent of Jaguar cars are currently built for export.

Along with Aston Martin and JLR, BMW and Toyota also operate manufacturing facilities in the region.

Malcolm Winston, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: "Demand for advanced products manufactured in the Midlands has ensured the region’s economy has bounced back strongly from the recession."

UK-wide, 1,528,148 cars were built nationally in 2014, a rise of 1.2 per cent year-on-year, and the most impressive output since 2007.

December last year also saw the industry’s strongest performance in ten years, during which 108,721 cars were manufactured – a 27.1% increase on the previous December.