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Less that 5 per cent of motorists plan to buy winter tyres this year, according to a new survey from Manheim Auctions.
The low figure comes despite warnings from weather forecasters of another winter of chaos on UK roads.
A number of carmakers, including Suzuki (pictured) have announced plans to run winter tyre programmes for their dealer networks this year.
The Manheim survey found that 95.5 per cent of respondents are not planning to buy winter tyres despite the chaos caused by the snow last year.
* 41 per cent of those surveyed said they could not afford them
* 28 per cent didn’t think the weather will be bad enough
* 16 per cent didn’t really know what winter tyres
“Winter tyres are an investment in safety. They will help to keep you on the move and on the road, reduce the risk of accidents and can be used over several winters.
“The fact that 16 per cent don’t really know what winter tyres are suggests that calling them cold weather tyres would be more helpful,” said Craig Mailey, marketing director, Manheim Auctions.
The survey was conducted by One Poll in August 2011 with 3,000 respondents