In its latest West European Car Sales report, the company said that with comparable selling days in most cases in the region, many markets were up on July 2013, with Germany performing particularly well. Registrations remain on track for a solid full-year expansion for 2014, with further growth forecast in the next few years on the back of ongoing economic recovery.

The German market picked up strongly last month, with the selling rate climbing towards 3.3 million units/year — this being the strongest selling rate since February 2012. Helped by a generally positive economic backdrop this year, the market is on course for a 3‐4% improvement over 2013.

The UK grew well once again in year‐on‐year terms, and while the selling rate eased back from recent months, generally the market looks to have fully recovered to pre‐financial crisis levels. More detailed information on the latest UK new car figures can be found here.

The Spanish market expanded for the 11th consecutive month. Despite struggling with cripplingly high unemployment, consumer confidence is in somewhat better shape than it was last year, and sales continue to be aided by the ongoing implementation of the PIVE scrappage incentive scheme.

The Italian market was also higher, though the selling rate weakened from recent months. The Italian government is considering new tax incentives to assist the car market there which, depending on the level of support, could rapidly improve the fortunes on this struggling market.

French registrations slipped back, though there was one fewer selling day for July 2014 versus 2013. A selling rate of just over 1.8 million units/year implies that demand remains fairly muted.