Europe car sales rise at slowest pace in 6 months

Munich

EUROPEAN car sales rose at the slowest pace in six months in May as buyers' concerns about unemployment and the Greek sovereign debt crisis held back demand at Volkswagen AG and Renault SA.

Registrations increased 1.4 per cent to 1.15 million vehicles from 1.14 million a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, said on Tuesday. That pared the gain in the first five months of the year to 6.7 per cent for a total six million autos.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its global economic-growth forecast in early June, in part because the risk of a debt default by Greece is making businesses wary of spending money. Consumer confidence in the 19 countries using the euro dropped a second consecutive month in May, with plans for purchases declinin…