Car sales have enjoyed their 29th consecutive month of growth, with nearly 173,000 units sold in July.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) stated that this was a rise of 6.6 per cent on the previous month's figures.

It says the market has expanded by 10.1 per cent in the year to date, due to economic confidence and attractive finance, to over 1.46 million units.

As a result of faster-than-expected first half-year growth, the SMMT has revised its 2014 market forecast upwards to 2.45 million registrations - an increase of 8.1 per cent on 2013.

Mike Hawes, the organisation's chief executive, said demand could be starting to stabilise, however, with more moderate growth in the past three months.

The SMMT also noted that driverless technology is also on the rise, with an increased uptake of features such as adaptive cruise control and collision warning systems.