Car sales across Western European rose 1.2% in August, a 12th consecutive monthly gain, with strong gains in the UK and Spain compensating for a slowdown in Germany and France, according to LMC Automotive.

Despite August being a summer holiday month, registrations hit 640,123 cars although LMC added the selling rate fell back to an seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of 11.91m from 12.18m in July.

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Europe’s vehicle market bottomed out in 2013, the end of a six-year slump, but LMC said the current rebound remains vulnerable to weak consumer confidence and economic outlooks, clouded by mounting geopolitical uncertainties.

German, French and Italian sales declines published this week have led to concerns the recovery may be losing momentum although LMC maintained its 5% full year sales growth forecast.

In the UK, where car registrations rose 9.4% in August, the SMMT industry body said the market is expected to slow in coming months.

But Spain, one of the markets worst hit by the financial crisis, saw its annualised selling rate rise 1.7% to 849,155, LMC said.

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