European car sales up 6% in November

Brussels – European new-car sales rose 5.8% in November, helped by an extra selling day with Peugeot, Toyota, Dacia and Kia posting strong gains while the Fiat and BMW brands saw their sales slide.

Registrations rose to 1.26 million cars last month in the EU and EFTA countries, industry body ACEA said on Thursday, from 1.19 million a year earlier. Eleven-months sales were up 4% to 14.5 million autos.

Sales by PSA soared 83%, as registrations of the newly acquired Opel-Vauxhall division were not included in year-earlier records.

Peugeot brand sales jumped 20%, boosted by demand for its new 3008 and 5008 SUVs while volume at Citroen, which began deliveries of the C3 Aircross SUV in recent months, rose 15%. DS sales fell 9%.

Opel-Vauxhall sales were 71,953, down from 73,377 in November last year.

Volkswagen Group reported a 5% increase, led by Seat and Skoda, which both posted 12% gains. Skoda's volume was helped by the new Kodiak SUV, while the Ateca SUV boosted Seat's result.

Audi 's volume rose 3.6%, VW brand was up 1.5% and Porsche 1%. Renault Group sales grew 10% with Renault brand registrations up 5% and Dacia's volume surging 25%.

Fiat Chrysler slipped 1% after a 28% increase at Jeep and 23% jump at Alfa Romeo offset a drop in Fiat brand sales of 6.8%. Ford sales rose 4.3%.

Among Asian brands, Kia's volume was up 13% after the brand introduced the Stonic SUV. Hyundai sales grew 6%.

Toyota registrations increased 12% with Toyota brand's volume up 12%, helped by C-HR sales, and Lexus sales rising 14% on demand for the NX and CT models. Nissan's registrations dropped by 5%.

Mercedes-Benz brand's volume rose 2.1% while BMW brand sales fell 2.2%.

Of Europe’s five biggest auto markets, Germany, France and Spain posted double-digit or close to double-digit advances, outweighing an 11% plunge in the No. 2 market UK where weaker consumer confidence and uncertainty over the future of diesel have been hurting demand.

'Crisis overcome'

The region is set for the highest annual delivery volume in a decade, cementing a comeback from the global recession and sovereign debt crises in some EU countries that plagued the car market for years.

The EU raised third-quarter gross domestic product growth figures a week ago, while unemployment in the countries sharing the euro is at a nine-year low, encouraging consumer and business spending on autos, especially roomier SUVs.

"The crisis has been overcome, and in the coming year demand can continue upward," Peter Fuss, a partner at consultant EY, said in a statement. "Economic growth prospects are good," and "interest rates remain low, making auto financing terms attractive."

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report