New figures released yesterday (1st April) have indicated that auto sales in France rose by 8.1 per cent during March, reversing five previous months of declines.

According to the French Carmakers' Association, new registrations increased to 204,095, particularly boosted by the 30 per cent and 29 per cent increases experienced by Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroen respectively.

The rise can be attributed in part to a €1,000 (£914) scrappage incentive for buyers getting rid of old cars, which was launched in the country in December after sales fell by 18 per cent last year.

Commenting on the figures, Patrick Pelata, Chief Operating Officer of Renault SA, told Bloomberg: "We may have reached the bottom of the crisis."

Meanwhile, German consumers have been shrugging off the ongoing effects of the credit crunch, with new car registrations increasing by 40 per cent to approximately 401,000 units during March.

Data released today by the VDIK car importers' association suggested that even when accounting for the month's extra working days, sales still improved by a fifth on a year-on-year basis.

The rise - which was also aided by a €2,500 (£2,285) government scrapping bonus plan for cars over nine years old - has led the body to predict that double-digit percentage growth will be recorded for the first quarter.

"The decision to top up funds for the [bonus scheme] came just in time given that the money originally approved has run out," VDIK head Volker Lange said in an interview with Reuters.

Elsewhere, new figures confirmed that auto sales in the US fell for the 17th consecutive month, but major automakers have expressed confidence that the turning point may be arriving soon.

Of the 'Big Three' companies, General Motors (GM) said its year-on-year sales fell by 45 per cent during the month, while Ford and Chrysler recorded declines of 41 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.

For Chrysler, March represented the best sales performance for six months, while GM's sales were 23 per cent higher than in February, much to the delight of Chief Sales Analyst Mike DiGiovanni.

He said: "I think we're seeing maybe the first signs of a brightening in the outlook for the auto industry."

The improvements would appear to suggest that the £14.4 billion worth of government backing handed out to GM and Chrysler is starting to take effect, although they are requesting a further £13.6 billion investment.

"[President] Obama's assurance that he was backing us and Chrysler may have had a halo effect on people feeling more confident about the whole car industry," added Mr DiGiovanni.

Similarly, Ford's sales volume of 131,465 units was 30 per cent higher than the total for the previous month and it has now improved its share of the retail market to its best level since December 2006.

In Japan, new statistics released yesterday have revealed that domestic new auto sales declined by 15.6 per cent on a fiscal annual basis, slumping to their lowest levels for 38 years.

The Japan Automobile Dealers' Association confirmed that 2,891,901 new cars, buses and trucks were sold in the year to 31st March as the costs associated with owning a vehicle put off recession-hit consumers.

Among the worst-affected last month were Nissan - down 34 per cent to 59,292 units (excluding minicars) - and Toyota, which saw sales decline by 32 per cent to 135,700 vehicles.

Honda, the country's second-largest automaker, posted a sales decrease of 25 per cent to 67,211 units (including mincars), while Mazda sold 23,647 units, representing a fall of 32 per cent.

Takeshi Fushimi, a director of the Tokyo-based association, told Bloomberg: "The severity of the slump in the industry is intensifying. We need measures to restore confidence among consumers."

Finally, new data suggested yesterday that auto sales in Canada fell for the fifth consecutive month in March, slumping to their lowest monthly levels since 1997.

The country's automakers sold a total of 127,489 vehicles - a drop of 15 per cent - although the figure represented a smaller decrease than recorded in the three previous months.

Dennis DesRosiers, President of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, said in a statement quoted by Reuters: "It is hard to be positive about a month that is this negative but March was a significant improvement over earlier months."

The news provider suggests that one automaker has urged the Canadian government to introduce an incentive to encourage consumers to trade in older, less fuel-efficient vehicles in order to boost sales.

Sources:

French Car Sales Snap Decline, Buoyed by Incentives (Update1) (01/04/09)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=avvYJSqGB8oA&refer=europe

UPDATE 2-Incentives help German car sales leap in March (02/04/09)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/motoringAutoNews/idUKL269644620090402?sp=true&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

US car maker sales down for March (01/04/09)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7977922.stm

Ford reverses slump in American car sales but remains cautious (02/04/09)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article6018361.ece

Auto Sales for March Offer Hope (01/04/09)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/business/02sales.html?_r=2&hpw

Japan domestic auto sales hit 38-year-low (01/04/09)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQVd-6b_n9aBz9l31Qr7ey5M_uEA

Toyota, Nissan Lead 32% Plunge in Japan Auto Sales (Update2) (01/04/09)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBw1Hcin.Zv0&refer=home

Canada monthly auto sales fall to lowest since '97 (01/04/09)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/motoringAutoNews/idUKTRE53083020090401?sp=true