New car sales grew by 30% last year as industry figureheads said the motor sector was helping to drive employment.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry has predicted the car sales sector will grow by 20% next year, with up to 150,000 new vehicles sold and an extra 3,250 jobs created.

The number of new private cars licensed last month was up over 50% on July 2014 figures, according to the CSO.

The sale of new cars has soared to over 100,000 for the first time since 2008 — as more cars were sold in the first seven months of this year than in all of 2014.

Mark Boggan has been elected president of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), the representative body for vehicle manufacturers/distributors, franchise dealerships, independent garages, wholesalers, commercial vehicle testers and other businesses in the motor industry in Ireland.