British new car sales see strong start in Jan.

A total of 164,856 new cars were registered in Britain in January, up 6.7 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Thursday.

January marked the 35th consecutive month of new car registration rises and has the best sales record in the same period since 2007, according to the SMMT.

"These figures mark an encouraging start to the year after a very strong 2014, with a strikingly robust company car market as businesses take advantage of the attractive finance offers currently available," said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.

With 8,674 units being sold, Ford Fiesta was the most popular car in January. Other popular cars included Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Golf, etc.

The car industry is a vital part of the British economy. More than 160,000 people are employed directly in the manufacturing of cars and more than 770,000 work in the wider automotive industry. Britain invests 1.9 billion pounds (2.9 billion U.S. dollars) each year in car research and development. Endit