European car registrations up 11 pct in Oct

FRANKFURT - Car registrations in October were up 11 percent in Europe, roughtly flat in the U.S. and up sharply in Asia, a German industry group said Monday.

The VDA, based in Frankfurt, said government rebate programs pushed sales in western Europe up 16 percent in the year to October to 1.2 million registrations.

Britain saw a 32 percent increase, Spain 26 percent, Germany 24 percent and France a 20 percent rise.

Demand across Eastern Europe was weaker, however, except in the Czech Republic, which booked a 9 percent increase in registrations for the month. Russia saw a 52 percent slump.

The VDA said that while the U.S. market was able to improve its monthly registrations by 0.2 percent, the 10-month level of registrations is down by about a quarter.

Meanwhile, Japanese registrations rose 8 percent, the third monthly increase in a row, helped by the country's incentive programs.

The VDA said Chinese registrations were down 67 percent, while India saw a 30 percent drop.

Demand for cars nosedived during the financial and economic crisis of the past year amid tighter credit conditions and job uncertainty. They have been boosted in recent months, however, with the help of the government incentives, such as the popular cash-for-clunkers schemes.

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On the Net:

http://www.vda.de

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