By Neetha Mahadevan
FRANKFURT--New car registrations in Germany climbed more than 5%
in March compared with the same month last year, data showed
Wednesday, providing further evidence of an upturn in Europe's auto
market after other countries in the region posted strong growth a
day earlier.
"Consumer sentiment in the EU has increasingly brightened,
bringing a positive impulse to new car purchases," Matthias
Wissmann, president of the German automotive industry association
VDA said. He said the European car market has been on the path of
slow recovery since the start of the year.
Around 296,400 new cars were registered last month, a key
measure of demand in a sector crucial to Europe's biggest economy.
Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority, KBA, attributed the
rise to increased demand for major local brands, except for Porsche
and Smart.
VDA reported a similar increase in new car registrations, with
domestic orders in March increasing 2% from a year earlier,
confirming the positive trend from the start of the year.
In Germany, the largest automobile market on the continent, new
car registrations in the first quarter rose 5.6% on the year.
On Tuesday, Italy, Spain and France all reported higher new car
registrations. Italian new car registrations rose 4.9% in March,
while demand in Spain was twice as strong and registrations in
France were up 8.9%. In all of these markets, domestic
manufacturers were among the gainers.
ACEA, the European association of auto makers, will release
March new car registrations for Europe on April 17. Car sales in
January and February combined were up 6.6%, the association said
earlier, and forecast that Europe's auto market will grow around 2%
this year.
By Neetha Mahadevan at neetha.mahadevan@wsj.com