EU sales growth ‘encouraging’ as volumes still far from peak

Europe's light vehicle market posted its 31st consecutive month of growth in March, despite a moderate slowdown in the rate of increase. Figures from ACEA show a 6% year-on-year rise in registrations to 1,700,683 units, putting it close to the pre-recession results of March 2007. For the first quarter, passenger car registrations are up 8.2%. March's performance follows a 14.3% in February and a 6.2% jump in January.