VDA says W Europe car registrations down in June

FRANKFURT, July 12 (Reuters) New car registrations in western Europe fell 4 percent to 1.42 million vehicles in June, the German auto industry association VDA said on Wednesday.

Car registrations, which closely mirror car sales, rose 1 percent to 7.94 million vehicles in the first half of the year in western Europe.

''Therefore the European market is developing just like the German market and overall is not very dynamic,'' Bernd Gottschalk, president of the VDA, said in a statement.

The VDA said sales in June fell because of fewer working days in some countries compared with the previous year.

Car registrations in Italy fell 12.6 percent to 206,794 vehicles in June. In France car registrations were 223,778 vehicles, nearly the same level as last year.

Car registrations in Spain and Britain fell 3.6 percent in June, the VDA said. High inflation in Spain hurt consumer demand, the VDA said, adding that Britain's economic recovery has not yet managed to combat sluggish spending.

In Germany, western Europe's biggest market, car registrations fell 4.6 percent to 323,800 vehicles in June.

The five main markets of Germany, Italy, Britain, France and Spain accounted for four-fifths of the western European car market in the first half of the year.

The VDA said that German car makers gained market share in all the major markets during the first half of the year.

REUTERS PV RS1442