car sales in Europe rebounded in October with 5.5 percent growth after a September soft spot owing to a recovery in the main markets, the ACEA European automakers association said Wednesday.
Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe-comprising the EU members except Cyprus and Malta, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland-totalled 1,321,000 in October. After a slump of 1.5 percent the previous month, ACEA put the improvement down due "to one extra working day in the whole region and a general upswing in most of the main markets."
Britain, France, Italy and Spain all reported booming sales while the European Union's newest member states continued to see a new car buying spree. Among the major markets, only Germany saw a fall, with sales declining 4.1 percent from October of last year, when German consumers were rushing to purchase big ticket goods ahead of a sales tax hike at the beginning of this year.