Europe car sales up on gains in former crisis countries

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European car sales rose 5.2 percent to 967,778 vehicles in January, lifted by demand for compact cars in all major markets including crisis-hit countries like Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Greece, industry data showed on Tuesday.

The number of cars sold under the Volkswagen, Peugeot and Renault brands in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association trading bloc rose 7.6 percent, 8.8 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, according to data from the Association of European Carmakers (ACEA).

Manufacturers were cautiously optimistic.

Allan Rushforth, Chief Operating Officer at Hyundai Motor Europe said: "European new car sales bottomed out at the beginning of last year and today's figures show that we're on the road to recovery. The question is how much of that recovery is organic and how much is the result of actions taken by governments and carmakers."

Hyundai, which saw sales in the European and EFTA region fall 5.5 percent in January, said it would not pursue market share gains at any cost.

In Italy, the region's fourth-biggest market, sales grew 3.2 percent, while sales in Ireland rose 33 percent compared with the same month a year earlier.

Greece posted a 15 percent rise, while Portugal, also a victim of the euro zone's debt crisis, saw 32 percent growth in car registrations in January.

Sales at Renault Group jumped 13 percent, boosted by a 38 percent surge in registrations of its no-frills Dacia brand.

Germany's Volkswagen Group, Europe's No. 1 by volume, which also owns Seat, Bentley and Lamborghini, posted an 8.2 percent rise in sales, helped by a 10 percent rise in registrations at its value brand Skoda and an 8.5 percent gain at its premium brand Audi.

Toyota branded vehicles were up 15 percent while rival General Motors saw sales of its Opel and Vauxhall branded vehicles slide 7.8 percent, even as sales of Chevrolet vehicles rose 8.9 percent. Ford saw new passenger car registrations rise 8.8 percent during the period.

January marked the fifth consecutive month of growth in the European Union. All the major markets posted growth, with Britain and Spain both up 7.6 percent and Germany sales up 7.2 percent, while Italy and France grew 3.2 percent and 0.5 respectively.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)