European Car Sales Turn Positive

FRANKFURT--New car registrations in Europe rose for the first time in six years in 2014, as the auto industry made a fragile recovery amid slowdown worries in some regions.

New car registrations, a proxy of sales, rose to 12.6 million vehicles last year in the 28-nation bloc, up 5.7% from a year earlier, according to data published Friday by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.

Although car sales recovered for the first time since 2007 after a six-year slump, growth remained patchy in most regions throughout the year, raising doubts about the rebound's strength.

In December, new car registrations rose 4.7% to 951,329 vehicles, driven by strong demand in Western European countries, excluding France.

Registrations in Spain rose 21% in December and grew 8.7% in the U.K. In Germany, Europe's biggest car market, registrations jumped 6.7%.

However, growth was capped by France, where registrations fell 6.8% in December, due to its floundering economy.

Italy, which was worst hit by the prolonged drop in demand for new cars in Europe after the financial crisis, posted a sales increase of 2.4%.

"Substantial growth also posted by the new EU member states contribute to explain last month's positive outcome," the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said.

Among individual brands, luxury carmakers BMW and Daimler posted double-digit gains, while mass market manufacturers Renault S.A., Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. also reported a rise in December, posting gains of 3.9%, 4.2% and 4.4%, respectively. Opel Group was the only carmaker in Europe to report a drop in sales, down 5% for the month.

Write to Neetha Mahadevan at [e-mail]

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