EU car sales up again in July and August
(PARIS) - New car registrations in the European Union showed further recovery in July and August, industry data showed on Wednesday, with strong figures even in countries struggling to maintain growth.
Sales of new cars rose 5.6 percent in July and 2.1 percent in August, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) said, showing the market is shaking off a slump.
French manufacturer Renault performed strongly in July with a 10.4-percent rise, but fell back 3.1 percent in August.
Sales for Dacia, Renault's Romanian low-cost brand, surged 20.8 percent in July but slipped to a 2.7-percent rise in August.
Growth was better in other European markets, with Germany -- the continent's leading car manufacturer -- posting a 6.8-percent increase in sales in July, before contracting 0.4 percent in August.
The VW group comprising Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda remained the undisputed EU leader, taking 25.4 percent of all sales since the beginning of the year.
In Spain, which only emerged from recession in 2013 and is grappling with an unemployment rate of just under 25 percent, sales rose 11.1 percent in July and 13.7 percent in August.
Car sales in the UK grew by 6.6 percent in July and 9.4 percent in August, figures showed.
"The economic situation in the whole of Europe is better than that of France, and that shows in the automotive market," said Jean-Francois Belorgey, partner at EY (formerly Ernst & Young).
He noted that impressive growth statistics must be "taken in context" as more cars are traditionally bought in August due to summer sales.
In terms of raw numbers, 1,041,683 cars were registered in the EU in July, and 688,464 in August.
In the first eight months of 2014, registrations of new cars grew by 6.0 percent, ACEA said, "continuing the upward trend that began 12 months ago".
European car manufacturers were hard hit during the financial crisis and then the eurozone debt crisis, when businesses and consumers cut their spending, although German manufacturers weathered the storm relatively well.
Several governments introduced incentive schemes for the purchase of new cars involving bonuses for the scrapping of old vehicles. These programmes helped support sales for as long as they lasted, but sales tended to drop off again when the schemes ended.
In the last year, sales have begun to recover but from an exceptionally low base, and the weak state of many European economies still weighs on overall sales.
Sales in Britain, however, where the economy is recovering strongly, have rebounded well.