French new car registrations rose 7.5 per cent year on year during September, with a total of 165,841 vehicles sold, the French manufacturers association CCFA has announced.

Sales have been steadily rising through 2005, with the total for the first nine months of the year rising 4.7 per cent on the same period of 2004.

The figures mean that 1,566,892 vehicles have been registered already this year in Europe.

"The French car market continues its advance with a trend that remains broadly positive," said the CCFA.

The news follows positive reports from the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association (EAMA) last month on performance during August in the European market as a whole.

A strong jump in European car sales during August led by BMW and Volkswagen saw sales increase by 7.5 per cent compared to 2004.

The promising figures also follow comments made last month by the head of Volkswagen's VW brand group, Wolfgang Bernhard, who recently predicted an upturn in the US car market.



Ÿ Adfero Ltd