VW brand, Toyota, Seat and Dacia all saw their European sales rise sharply in April, outpacing a market that grew 9.6 percent on increased demand in the region’s five biggest markets.
Registrations rose to 1.34 million last month across the EU and EFTA markets, according to data released Friday by industry association ACEA.
Volkswagen Group sales rose 13 percent, led by a 25 percent jump at Spanish unit Seat. The group’s core brand, VW, was up 19 percent, while Porsche rose 13 percent and Skoda 10 percent. Audi registrations slipped 1 percent.
Renault Group sales rose 10 percent, boosted by a 24 percent gain at budget brand Dacia and a 4.2 percent rise at the Renault brand.
DS Automobiles led gains at PSA Group with a 44 percent jump, while Peugeot brand rose 15 percent and Citroen was up 6.9 percent.
Registrations at PSA subsidiary Opel/Vauxhall were up 1.8 percent on sales last year when the unit was still under General Motors ownership.
Ford’s monthly volume rose 14 percent.
Nissan sales rose 5.5 percent, while Asian rivals Hyundai and Kia gained 15 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.
Among the losers last month, Fiat slipped 4.5 percent, while registrations at BMW brand were down 3.1 percent and Mercedes-Benz’s volume was flat.
Sales Europe’s five largest markets were up last month. Spanish registrations jumped 12 percent followed by a 10 percent rise in the UK and a 9 percent increase in France. Volume in Germany rose 8 percent while sales in Italy increase 6.5 percent.
Four-month EU and EFTA registrations were up 2.6 percent to 5.63 million.