European car sales 'recovering'

Car scrappage schemes seem to be having the desired effect

Sales of new cars across Europe rose for the first time in 14 months in June, buoyed by a number of national scrappage schemes, figures have shown.

New registrations across 28 European nations rose by 2.4% last month from a year ago, the European Automotive Manufacturers' Association said.

Germany, one of the first countries to pay drivers to trade in old cars, led the gains, with registrations up 41%.

In the UK, the rate of decline in new car registrations had slowed.

New registrations in the UK were down 15.7% in June from a year ago, a figure that had already been released by UK trade group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This compared with May's 25% fall.

The SMMT has thanked the "positive impact" of the UK's own scrappage scheme, which started on 18 May.

Sales across the 28 European countries totalled 1.46 million in June, the European Automotive Manufacturers' Association said, up from 1.43 million a year earlier.