Tuesday June 16, 09:52 AM
New car sales in Europe slump for 13th month
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Sales of new cars in Europe fell for the thirteenth month running in May, dropping 4.9 percent over one year, according to trade data on Tuesday.
However, the rate of decline slowed significantly after recent sharp falls as some major west European markets saw an increase in sales thanks to government cash-for-clunker schemes to encourage replacement of old cars.
The ACEA European car makers association said new registrations fell to 1,270,195 cars in May in the 28 countries it reviewed -- the 27 EU member states, minus Cyprus and Malta, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Despite the overall slump in sales, in Germany they surged 39.7 percent and in France 11.8 percent as the cash-for-clunker schemes boosted the markets.
Incentive schemes also supported the Austrian and Greek markets although they did not yet translate into gains for the British and Spanish markets, where sales were down 24.8 percent and 38.7 percent respectively.
However, sales continued to collapse in eastern Europe, falling as much as 80 percent in crisis-struck Latvia in the worse case. Only the Czech Republic and Slovakia saw an increase in sales in the region.
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