New car registrations rose 2.4% in July to 157,149 units - the first growth in 15 months.

Much of the growth has been attributed to the positive impact of the scrappage scheme.

The scrappage scheme came into effect on 18 May and orders are now being translated into registrations.

As a result, registrations from private buyers and of small cars were both up in July.

Despite last month's upturn, the market is still down almost 550,000 units over the past 12 months.

“The impact of the scrappage scheme is clear and we are encouraged by the positive impact it has had,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.

Fleet and business sales last month were also encouraging.

Business sales - those to companies with less than 25 vehicles - remained static compared to July 2008 at just over 7,200.

Sales to fleets were down 18% or some 15,000 vehicles fewer than in July last year.

Year-to-date fleet sales are down 27.9%, while business sales are down 34.6%.

Top ten best sellers year-to-date

  1. Fiesta 66,980
  2. Focus 55,875
  3. Corsa 49,545
  4. Astra 34,697
  5. Golf 29,992
  6. 207 25,903
  7. Insignia 22,664
  8. 3 Series 20,494
  9. Mini 20,238
  10. A3 20,001