New-car registrations across Europe were generally lackluster in May after a rebound in the first few months of the year, although sales in Germany and Spain were higher due to incentives and subsidies.
Europe’s car market has shown signs of recovery from a six-year slump, but excess production capacity, heavy discounting and incentives continue to distort the true level of demand.
Germany joined France, Italy and Spain in posting higher new-car sales in March, adding to signs that a recovery in the European market is gaining strength.
German new-car registrations rose 5 percent to 296,408 last month, driven by gains from the major German brands except for Porsche and Smart, the Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA said today. Sales to private customers rose 3 percent.
European car sales rose by nearly 8 percent percent in February, the sixth consecutive monthly gain, as a gradual economic revival in southern Europe and price cuts helped to boost demand for new models.
