NEW car sales for 2014 reached a ten-year high, official figures out today (Wednesday, January 7) are likely to reveal.

Last year is expected to have seen UK new registrations total around 2.46 million, the best annual figure since 2004.

The 2014 figure, to be announced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), will be a considerable rise on the total of just over 2.26 million in 2013.

The total will be supported by Sunderland car maker Nissan, which regularly sees its Qashqai model one of the country's best-selling vehicles.

It will also signal that after steering along some rocky roads in recent years, car sales have climbed back to pre-recession levels.

Including November 2014, new registrations have risen for a record 33 consecutive months.

Sales for the first 11 months of the year, at more than 2.31 million, were up 9.4 per cent on the January-November 2013 total.

After reaching the 2.5 million mark in the early part of the last decade, sales were badly hit by the recession which started in 2008.

With consumer confidence dented, new registrations dipped below two million in both 2009 and 2011 before recovering in 2012 and 2013.