Sales of new motor vehicles began 2008 with the strongest month-to-month growth in 2 and a half years.

Statistics Canada said today that 153,231 new vehicles were sold in January, up 8.2% from December and the largest monthly growth since June 2005.

January’s rise in new-vehicle sales comes on the heels of a 5.1% increase in December and marks a turnaround after six drops in seven months.

The agency says preliminary industry data for February suggest that some of January’s gains will be lost, due mainly to a decline in truck sales.

January’s growth was almost entirely due to an increase in passenger car sales, which rose 16.2% to 80,754 as dealers offered rebates, better pricing and better financing, along with a one percentage point reduction in the goods and services tax.

Sales of new trucks — that’s minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses – edged up 0.5% in January to 72,476.

A sizable rise in the number of new motor vehicle sales in Quebec, up 16.1% to 39,953, contributed the most to the Canadian increase, while Ontario rose 6.9% to 54,558.