BERLIN--Political uncertainty in Ukraine and slumping demand in
France failed to steer the recovery of the car industry in the
European Union off course in February, with major manufacturers
Volkswagen AG, General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Co. posting
strong gains.
New car registrations, which closely track actual sales, rose 8%
in February from the same month a year earlier to 861,058 vehicles,
the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, known as
ACEA, said. Car sales in February rose for the sixth consecutive
month after six years of falling demand. Car sales in January and
February combined were up 6.6%.
"In February, France was the only major market to face a
downturn," ACEA said in a statement. "All other significant markets
contributed positively."
Car sales fell 1.4% in France last month, while sales in
Germany, the EU's biggest car market, rose 4.3% and are up 5.7% so
far this year. Car sales rose 3% in the United Kingdom and were up
8.6% in Italy and 17.8% in Spain.
In terms of sheer volume, car sales in the EU are still lower
than they were before the financial crisis. European car-industry
executives point out that the sharp rebound in sales in some
markets is a reflection of how low demand has fallen since the
beginning of the crisis.
Despite lingering economic headwinds and the threat of economic
sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Crimea, the
world's biggest car manufacturers made strong gains in
February.
Sales of cars made by Toyota, the world's biggest car maker by
sales, rose 16.2%, with sales of its Lexus model rising 29.3%.
Sales of Volkswagen cars rose 8% in February, driven higher by
Audi, SEAT and Skoda, which increased 13.1%, 15.7% and 24%
respectively. The solid increase disguised weak sales of the
company's flagship VW brand cars, which fell 0.6%. Sales of GM rose
12.6% in February, with a 16.2% gain in Opel sales offsetting
declining sales of Chevrolet models as the U.S. car maker winds
down sales of Chevrolet in Europe.
Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com
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