Europe's New Car Sales Grow For Ninth Straight Month

European demand for new passenger cars increased for the ninth consecutive month in May, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed Tuesday.

Car sales rose 4.5% year-on-year in May, slightly slower than the 4.6% rise posted in April.

Bulgaria, however, is among the countries where the new car sales declined, along with Italy, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland and Slovenia.

According to the data, in Bulgaria in May were sold 1802 new automobiles, which is by 2.8% less than in May 2013. 

Overall, new car sales in Bulgaria in the first five months of 2014, have posted a 17.8% increase, year-on-year.

In May, Italy was the only major market to register a decline, down 3.8%. All other significant markets contributed positively to the overall increase, with growth ranging from 0.3% in France to 16.9% in Spain. Sales in Germany advanced 5.2% and by 7.7% in the UK.