That’s the finding of the latest analysis from JATO Dynamics, which finds that June 2014 sales are up 4.3% on the same month last year whilst Renault shows strong performance out of all the brands.

The data finds that YtD growth on a country level included Europe’s five largest markets France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. With growth of 18.8%, Spain was particularly strong during the first half of the year following the re-introduction of government incentives, after very low sales a year ago. Great Britain also performed well with year-to-date growth of 10.6%. Over 120,000 more new cars were sold in Great Britain in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period last year, representing the largest increase in volumes in Europe.

Fewer available selling days in June contributed to a slight dip in sales volumes in Germany during June (-1.9%), however over the first half of 2014 this market grew by 2.4%. Italy recorded year-to-date growth of 3.4%, and France 2.9%.

The Czech Republic (+16.4%), Portugal (+37.7%) and Sweden (+17.7%) are amongst the medium-sized markets recording strong double-digit growth for the first half of 2014. Conversely, sales in the Netherlands continue to slow as a result of tax changes brought in at the start of the year. New car sales were down 5.6% in June and down 5.1% for the year-to-date.

Seven of the top 10 brands saw increases in their sales in June and all ten saw increases for the year-to-date. The two best-selling brands in Europe so far this year – Volkswagen and Ford – have both been affected by the slowdown in the Netherlands, where the former is the market leader. Volkswagen’s sales fell 3.1% in June compared to the same month last year, while its year-to-date growth of 1.9% is below the market average. Ford’s H1 2014 sales have grown in line with the market (up 5.5% YtD) despite a slight fall in June (-1.2%).

It has been a good year so far for third placed Opel/Vauxhall (up 8.3% YtD and 11.7% for June), with strong demand for the new Mokka small crossover and the revised, lower-CO2 Insignia model. Renault’s year-to-date growth of 13.5% helps close the gap on the top three. Its performance is further boosted by a strong June that saw new car sales rise by 20.8%. It was also a good month for BMW, which recorded an 7.8% rise in volumes.

Volkswagen’s Golf remains Europe’s top selling model thanks to impressive year-to-date growth of 14.2%. In contrast to the lower overall sales growth for the Volkswagen brand, the strong performance of the Golf in 2014 has resulted in it gaining market share.

The firm added that last month saw the Renault Captur (+116.0%) become the first small crossover to enter the top 10 models by sales volume. This breakthrough demonstrates how small crossovers have joined medium crossovers such as Nissan’s Qashqai, also in the top 10, as a mainstream choice for consumers.

Gareth Hession, vice president of research at JATO Dynamics, commented: ‘Overall it has been a very positive first half of the year for the European new car market. Year-to-date growth of 5.8% and ten consecutive months of sales increases are fantastic achievements in the current economic climate. These trends suggest that the industry has every chance of extending this level of performance for the remainder of 2014.’