FRANKFURT--Demand for new cars increased 11% in March, marking
the highest monthly growth since the same period last year, thanks
to double-digit growth in countries particularly hurt by the
economic crisis, such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy.
New-car registrations, a proxy for car sales, rose from a year
earlier to 1.6 million vehicles, according to the European
Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA. March marked the
19th consecutive month of growth.
In the first quarter, new passenger car registrations increased
by 8.6% to 3.5 million units as growth in all major markets
contributed to the overall upturn of the EU market, ACEA said
Thursday.
Sales in Spain increased 41% in March from a year earlier, while
Italy and Portugal posted growth of 15% and 42% respectively.
Greece and Ireland posted double-digit growth as well.
France registered a growth of 9.3%, while Germany, Europe's
biggest car market, posted 9% growth in the month.
Among individual brands, luxury car makers BMW AG and Daimler AG
posted double-digit gains, up 11% and 19%, respectively, followed
by Audi, whose sales grew 6.8% in the region.
Sales of the Volkswagen AG's namesake brand, the biggest volume
manufacturer in the EU with a market share of 11%, grew 11.4% in
March, while other mass market manufacturers such as Renault S.A.
and Ford Motor Co. reported gains of 10% and 8.7%,
respectively.
Opel Group continued to struggle in European markets, declining
0.6% in the month, largely because of a sharp decline in sales of
its Chevrolet brand.
Write to Neetha Mahadevan at neetha.mahadevan@wsj.com
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