Volvo Car UK has its strongest order book for four years and expects to sell more than 36,000 cars this year, reversing two years of decline.

Sales for the last two years have hovered around 30,000 but the company says its on the way back thanks largely to the popularity of the C30 and V50.

The V50 was the best seller in 2007 at 5,576 units and in the first seven months of this year, sales are already approaching that figure.

C30 sales are up 22% on 2007 levels at 2,472 to the end of July and V70 sales are up 40% at 2,979, says the company.

Overall sales are up 20% year-on-year and Volvo's market share has risen from 1.25% to 1.5%.

One of the major successes has been the R-Design package - launched last year and available on models from the C30 to the XC90 - with the UK taking 80% of total R-Design production.

The C30 is also helping to attract younger buyers to the brand, the company says.