Western Europe has seen car registrations hit their highest level for four years in signs that the market is returning to robust health.

Figures from the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) suggest that incentives and a fillip in consumer demand have helped shore up sales in August.

Preliminary figures reported by Reuters indicate that car registrations have swelled by 8.1 per cent in comparison to last year, helped by the German and Italian markets.

In Germany sales rose by 11.7 per cent while in Italy they pushed on by 12.7 per cent.

There was some less encouraging news in the context of this year, with growth over the first eight months muted at 0.2 per cent in comparison to 2004.

Nevertheless signs that the German market – Europe's biggest - is performing will hearten the industry.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd