(MENAFN) European car sales increased 4.6 percent in October, making the first consecutive monthly gain in two years, as a government cash-for-clunkers program pushed a delivery surge in Spain, Bloomberg reported.
Registrations advanced to 1.04 million new vehicles last month from 999,266 a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, said today in a statement. That narrowed the drop this year to 3.1 percent, for 10.4 million total deliveries. September sales rose 5.5 percent.
A record six-quarter recession in the 17 countries sharing the euro ended in the three months through June, and consumer confidence in the area rose in October. Demand gained in four of Europe's top five auto markets, including a 34 percent jump in Spain. Models introduced since late 2012 include Renault SA (RNO)'s first compact crossover, the Captur, and the latest version of General Motors Co. (GM)'s Opel Insignia.
The back-to-back increases were the first in the region since August and September 2011, ACEA Economics and Statistics Director Quynh-Nhu Huynh said in an e-mail.
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