Western Europe car sales up 6.3% in January

[FRANKFURT] European car sales rose 6.3 per cent to 1,093,565 vehicles in January, industry data showed on Tuesday, even as Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen saw registrations of VW-branded cars fall four per cent in the wake of a diesel emissions scandal.

VW's rivals Ford and Opel/Vauxhall meanwhile posted registration gains of 11.4 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively, according to car registration data for European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.

The Volkswagen Group as a whole saw sales rise one per cent in January, buoyed by a 14 per cent jump in registrations of its premium Audi division, according to the figures published by European auto industry association (ACEA).

In the European Union, registrations rose to 1,061,150 in January, a 6.2 per cent rise compared with the year-earlier period, marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, ACEA said.

Registrations in Italy and Spain rose 17.4 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively, while large markets France, Spain and Germany also posted modest single-digit gains.

REUTERS