European Registrations Up 4.5 per cent

New passenger car registrations rose 4.5 per cent in June compared to the previous year, totalling 1,545,879 units, according to ACEA figures.
With regard to national situations, four out of the five main markets posted growth. Italy reported the largest increase (+18 per cent), followed by Germany (+8.2 per cent), France (+2.7 per cent) and Spain (1.8 per cent).

UK figures took a significant hit, falling 4.8 per cent. This is likely to be related to the troubles at MG Rover, which resulted in an 85.1 per cent drop in its registration figure.

As far as the manufacturer breakdown is concerned, Kia registrations increased an impressive 52.2 per cent. BMW and Toyota/Lexus registrations also went up by 16.5 and 21.5 per cent respectively. VW registrations increased 8.4 per cent, while PSA group figures fell slightly (-1.5 per cent).