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.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

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.

Just Auto Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Auto Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Continental has secured the Window Displays Innovation Award in the 2025 Just Auto Excellence Awards for its Window Projection solution, transforming side windows into dynamic, data-rich canvases. Discover how this compact projection technology and intelligent software are reshaping in-car UX and opening fresh revenue streams for OEMs and mobility providers.

Discover the Impact