Ford Fiesta is still Britain's best-selling car

Car sales in 2015 have got off to a flying start, with official figures revealing more cars were sold last month than in any other January since 2007. The Ford Fiesta once again topped the list of the biggest selling cars.

An impressive 164,856 cars were registered either to private motorists or fleets – a 6.7% increase on December. The figures, released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed the 35th month of consecutive increases.

Buyers continue to be attracted by the range of alternatively fuelled vehicles on the road. Almost 4,600 were registered in January – an increase of more than 60% over January 2014. Registrations of plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, were particularly impressive.

But these figures were eclipsed by more conventional cars. The Ford Fiesta once again topped the list, but the second-biggest seller in December, the Ford Focus, has been overtaken by the new Vauxhall Corsa.

The Nissan Qashqai was in fourth place – a climb from sixth in December – while the Volkswagen Golf slipped one place to fifth. The Audi A3 climbed to sixth and the new Mercedes C-Class has made its first entry into the top 10 in seventh place.

The Volkswagen Polo, Fiat 500 and Vauxhall Astra rounded out the top 10 best sellers.

Buyers continue to be attracted by a range of cheap finance deals, thanks to continued low interest rates. Some 75% of new car purchases are made using finance.