That's according to AXA Car Insurance’s analysis of 30 million vehicle registrations since 1994, which found that following 18 years of declining popularity among UK drivers, British brands accounted for less than 20% of all cars on the road in 2010.

This compares to the height of British car brands such as Vauxhall and Land Rover in 1004, which accounted for almost one in three automobiles on the road (6.6 million), compared to Germany’s nine per cent (2 million) and Italy’s 3% (0.6 million).

In contrast, German car sales have increased significantly over the last 18 years, making up 19% of all cars on UK roads and more than doubling as a proportion.

In 2011, German cars finally took the crown, and their popularity has continued to rise in more recent years, accounting for more than one in five (21 per cent) cars on UK roads in Q4 2013.

One of the most notable successes on British roads is the influx of South Korean car brands: in 1994, South Korean marques accounted for just 0.41% of cars on UK roads. Over two decades, this has steadily increased, and the success of brands like Kia meant that this figure had doubled by 1997, tripled by 1999 and by the end of 2013, had increased nine-fold to 3.6%. This meant that the number of South Korean cars on UK roads increased from 87,000 in 1994 to more than 1 million (1,051,158) by the end of Q4 2013.

French motor brands steadily increased in popularity until 2005, when they accounted for 18% of cars on UK roads.  Following this peak, this figure has since declined to 15%.

American brands have followed a similar trajectory, peaking in 2004 and declining ever since.

In contrast, Czech car sales (fuelled entirely by Skoda) have more than tripled in popularity during the past 20 years; although AXA Car Insurance added that the brand’s German ownership might have helped this.