A sixty three per cent surge in sales for Land Rover has been attributed to continued high demand for its newest vehicle - the Range Rover Evoque.

Although the Evoque - dubbed the firm’s cleanest and greenest vehicle to date - has been in production for more than 12 months its sales performance was hailed as “excellent” by the Midland-based car-maker.

New car registrations in the UK continued to increase for the fifth month in a row in July. Sales overall were up 9.3 per cent to 143,994 units - the highest monthly figure so far in 2012, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Traders and Manufacturers (SMMT).

Land Rover’s sales were up from 2,113 in July 2011 to 3,436 - an increase of 62.61 per cent.

So far this year a total of 29,511 Land Rover vehicles have been sold in the UK, representing an increase of 33.7 per cent compared to 2011.

Jaguar’s July sales fell by just under eight per cent, the Castle Bromwich-based car maker selling 892 vehicles compared to 966 in July 2011.

But the firm’s sales overall in 2012 remain buoyant at 7,999 - an increase of 1.85 per cent compared to 2011.

A Jaguar Land Rover spokesman said: “Land Rover sales are 63 per cent up for the month of July 2012 and 34 per cent up year to date.

“These encouraging figures are supported by a strong product mix and the continued excellent performance of the Range Rover Evoque.”

The firm said the decline in Jaguar sales in July reflected the fact new models were in the pipeline.

“Jaguar UK has seen a 7.7 per cent decrease in sales for July 2012 due to anticipation of ‘13 model year XF and XJ being introduced in September,” the spokesman added.

“Year-to-date figures show Jaguar UK sales to be 1.8 per cent up.”

Total UK car registrations over the first seven months of the year have now risen by more than 40,000 units (3.5 per cent) year on year to 1,201,564.

The latest figures mean the SMMT has revised up its full year forecast for 2012 up to 1.97 million vehicles, compared with 1.94 million in 2011.