BRUSSELS, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- New car sales in Europe were wildly diverse in January, with spikes in western countries and record declines in eastern countries, an automotive group reported.
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association reported Tuesday from Brussels sales in 28 countries totaled 1.05 million compared with 938,000 in January 2009.
Portugal, Sweden and Denmark recorded increases between 30 percent and 60 percent, while Hungary, Bulgaria and the Baltic states saw significant drops.
Italy became the largest European car market in January, with 200,000 newly registered cars, followed by Germany with 180,000 and France with more than 170,000, the association said.
At the opposite end, Romania reported an 85 percent decline in new car sales, totaling just 2,133 vehicles in January, Hotnews.ro reported.
Sales in Hungary were down 54.7 percent and Bulgarian sales fell 47.5 percent, the report said.
By manufacturer, Volkswagen led with 11.3 percent of sales, followed by Renault with 9.2 percent, Ford with 8.7 percent, Peugeot with 7.6 percent and Fiat 7.5 percent, the association said.
