According to IHS Automotive, the Spanish market's gains were underpinned by the scrapping incentive and a general improvement in the economy, while registrations in Italy have grown on a general need to replace vehicles.

IHS added that the Spanish passenger car market has seen double-digit percentage growth rates in the first half of 2015, helped by growth in June underpinned by the eighth round of the Programa de Incentivos al Vehículo Eficiente (PIVE) scrapping incentive. Registrations during the month have grown by 23.5% year on year (y/y) to 111,333 units according to data published by Spanish trade association ANFAC. This has helped further maintain the momentum of the year to date (YTD), where registrations now stand at 555,222 units, an increase of 22.0% y/y.

On a brand basis, Volkswagen (VW) retained the top spot with 9,963 units, which was a y/y gain of 31.3%. This also resulted in it maintaining its leadership in the YTD, with registrations of 48,648 units, an increase of 15.1% y/y. During the month, Renault was exceptionally close behind VW with registrations of 9,907 units, an 8.5% y/y drop. Following behind were Opel, Ford and SEAT.

Despite declining in the month, Renault's Mégane was the top selling model followed by C-segment rivals the SEAT Leon and Citroën C4 (the latter also includes the C4 Cactus).

For Italy, gains continued in the passenger car market during June, helping to maintain momentum in the YTD. According to the latest data published by trade association UNRAE, registrations have increased by 14.4% y/y to 146,682 units. This in turn has contributed to the gain in the YTD of 15.2% y/y to 872,951 units.

From a brand perspective, Fiat unsurprisingly led the way with registrations of 30,301 units, underpinned by an increase of 12.6% y/y. Its YTD sales reached 182,656 units, a gain of 13.4% y/y. It has been a positive month for the remainder of the brands that make up Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA). Lancia/Chrysler recorded an increase in registrations of 22.0% y/y to 5,699 units while Alfa Romeo was up in the month by 17.1% y/y to 2,835 units. However, the Jeep brand saw the biggest improvement with a quadrupling of registrations from 684 units to 2,799 units.

Following Fiat in the brand chart this month was VW in second place, as its registrations increased by 10.4% y/y to 11,294 units, and Ford took third place with registrations of 10,430 units with a gain of 16.3% y/y. However, Opel overtook Renault into fourth place as the French automaker recorded a decline of 10.5% y/y to 8,011 units.

IHS Automotive added that it anticipates that the Spanish market will break through the 1 million unit barrier again with a gain of almost 20% y/y, while in the Italian market that will increase by 8.5% y/y to 1.49 million units.