Higher demand in Italy and France helped new car registrations in western Europe rise 2.3% in February to nearly 1.03 million units, German auto industry association VDA said on Monday, according to Reuters.
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Demand remained weak in Germany, Britain and Spain, making for a patchy recovery in the sector, the report noted.
“Car sales in western Europe appear to be mostly robust,” VDA reportedly said, citing preliminary figures. European industry association ACEA is due to release its February registration data on Thursday, Reuters noted.
Western European car registrations, which closely mirror sales, gained 2.7% in the first two months of the year to almost 2.24 million vehicles, VDA said.
Italy was the most dynamic big car market last month, with registrations up 6% to around 209,500 vehicles, given a range of new models and improved consumer sentiment, it said.
France reported a 0.6% gain to over 160,500 cars, as foreign carmakers boosted their market share.
Germany, Europe’s biggest car market, saw registrations fall 1.9% to just under 216,000, in part due to severe winter weather late in the month, the Reuters report said.
Subdued consumer sentiment in Britain and a 12% drop in car sales to retail customers contributed to the 1.4% decline in that market to around 76,000 cars, VDA reportedly said.
In contrast, retail sales in Spain were strong, but deals with rental fleet customers faltered, triggering a 2.3% decline in registrations to almost 117,000, the news agency added.
