European sales up
Scrappage incentive schemes, and significant discounts from vehicle makers, have led to the first rise in new car sales for over a year in Western Europe, according to the European automobile manufacturers' association ACEA, which says sales were up in June by 4.6% to 1,382,189 units.
Highlights included Germany, up by 40.5% in June and by 26.1% year-to-date. The markets in France and Italy continued to benefit from incentives, rising by 7% in France and 12% in Italy. The UK and Spanish markets were significantly down, by 15.7% and 15.9% respectively.
In the first six months of 2009, only Germany (+26.1%) and France (+0.2%) performed better than in 2008. Overall, the West European market declined by 9.8%.
Italy (-10.7%), the UK (-25.9%) and Spain (-38.3%) all fell sharply.
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