Sales of new Jaguar cars have raced ahead again, according to official figures.

Industry data for July showed 1,155 Jaguars were sold in the UK compared to 892 in the same month in 2012 – a year-on-year rise of just under 30 per cent.

So far this year, almost 10,000 vehicles have been snapped up by UK motorists – 22 per cent more than the number sold in the same period of last year.

Most Midlands-based manufacturers also reported increased sales.

Land Rover led the way in the region with 3,459 vehicles sold in July. Including Range Rover models, this was a slight increase of 0.67 per cent on the same period last year.

Chinese-owned MG, assembled in Longbridge, sold 27 vehicles in July – compared to 23 in the same month in 2012. The only exception was Gaydon-based luxury carmaker Aston Martin, whose sales dropped to 45 from 67 in 2012.

A total of 162,228 new cars were registered in the UK during July – a 12.7 per cent rise on the July 2012 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

This was the 17th successive monthly increase and took the year-so-far total to 1,325,851 – a 10.3 per cent increase on the January-July 2012 figure. The Ford Fiesta was top seller, with 9,089 models sold, followed by the Ford Focus (7,229) and the Vauxhall Astra (6,165).

SMMT interim chief executive Mike Baunton said the market was set to record its best annual sales since 2007. He said: “Strong business and consumer confidence in July saw the new car market continue to rise.

“Now we have evidence of consistent growth, we have raised our forecast for 2013 new car registrations.”