The value of European automakers, suppliers and retailers showed further improvement in the first quarter of this year, although the pace of growth was slower than in the preceding three months, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Indices.

The 7 percent rise in the value of automakers was two percentage points less than in last year’s Q4, while an 11 percent rise in the value of European parts suppliers followed a 15 percent gain in the preceding quarter. By contrast, the 5 percent improvement in the value of auto retailers was a small improvement on the 2 percent recorded in Q4.