Auto sales continued to grow in China during April, but the rate of increase slowed as a long period of heightened demand began to fade.

The China Passenger Cars Association claimed that 1.11 million cars were sold in the country over the course of the month, representing a year-on-year rise of 34 per cent.

However, the research institute suggested that this was some 12 per cent lower than the total for March, when annual sales were found to have surged by 63 per cent.

"It's impossible for people to buy autos like they buy radishes or cabbages and for most people autos are still precious goods requiring careful calculations and budgeting," said state-run Chinese newspaper Global Times, according to the Associated Press.

The smaller growth comes after Chinese consumers flocked to showrooms in their droves last year, helping the country to surpass the US as the world's largest auto market.

According to Autodata Corporation, auto sales in the US increased by 20 per cent on a year-on-year basis in April, with major manufacturers enjoying double-digit improvements.

However, this figure was still an eight per cent decline on the total for March, when Toyota launched a range of incentives following a troublesome spate of safety issues which required recalls.

The US market appears to be stabilising well after the impact of the 'cash for clunkers' programme but analysts are still not expecting it to keep pace with China this year.

In India, which is one of the world's fastest-growing auto sectors, sales increased by 39.5 per cent in April, representing the best performance for this particular month in over a decade.

Domestic car sales hit 143,976 units, up from 103,227 units 12 months earlier, which was the biggest rise for the 30-day period since April 1999, when sales surged by 50.3 per cent.

Vishnu Mathur, Director General of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, told Reuters that consumers in the country are benefiting from a booming economy and a range of easy financing options.

However, the longer-term picture is unclear, as the cost of implementing new emissions standards and the price of raw materials such as pig iron and steel are rising.

"There is an upward pressure in the prices of commodities. We have to watch that very, very carefully," said Mr Mathur in an interview with the news provider.

Elsewhere, auto sales increased in Japan for the ninth month in a row as consumers continued to make the most of government rebates and tax cuts.

The Japan Automobile Dealers' Association revealed that sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, rose by 34 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 222,095 units.

Toyota, Honda and Nissan - the country's three largest automakers - posted sales improvements of 50 per cent, 13 per cent and 31 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Volkswagen AG, the continent's biggest automaker, revealed that its global sales rose by 11 per cent to 604,000 units in April.

The company's performance was boosted by four-month sales surging by 54 per cent in China (to 620,500 cars and SUVs) and by 38 per cent in the US (to 112,600 units).

Volkswagen has already confirmed that it will invest a further €1.6 billion on additional models and two new factories in China, taking its total outlay in the country to €6 billion.

"Overseas growth is offsetting a weakening European market, where government incentives are expiring," Christian Aust, a Munich-based Analyst at UniCredit SpA, told Bloomberg.

"The positive trend established over the past months is continuing."

Indeed, those sentiments were partially verified by European carmakers' association ACEA, which suggested that continent-wide sales slumped by 7.4 per cent in April.

Although registrations were up by 4.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the first four months of the year, an 11.6 per cent fall was posted compared to the January-April period in 2008, prior to the economic crisis.

The April decline among European member states - which saw 1,134,701 units sold - represented the first such decrease for ten months and was largely down to the conclusion of a number of scrappage schemes.

"In the first months of the present year … government support has ended or begun to fade out and the economic situation remains difficult," read an ACEA statement.

The worst figures were recorded in Germany, where new passenger car sales crashed by 32 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 259,500 units.

Furthermore, registrations of foreign brands in the country dipped by 43 per cent to 76,600 units, according to the VDA carmakers' body.

There was a similar story in Italy, where sales dropped by 15.65 per cent to 159,971 units, which was the first monthly decline recorded this year.

However, the picture was far rosier in Spain, with carmakers' association Anfac revealing that sales surged by 39.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis in April.

The latest boost followed increases of 63 per cent and 47 per cent in March and February respectively and underlined the ongoing benefit of subsidies for buyers.

In France, where the government's scrappage scheme was operating on a reduced basis during April, new vehicles sales increased by 1.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders saw car sales in the UK rise by 11.5 per cent annually during the month, representing the tenth successive increase.

The growth can largely be explained by a combination of cheaper credit, an improving economic outlook and heightened private buyer demand for new, fuel-efficient vehicles.

However, the figure was considerably lower than in the previous two months, when almost identical improvements near the 26 per cent mark were registered.

"With the car scrappage scheme now at an end and with VAT having risen back up from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent at the beginning of January, there is a very real danger that private car sales will fall back markedly over the coming months," Global Insight Analyst Howard Archer told Reuters.

A total of 98,290 cars were produced in the UK in April, representing a 44 per cent rise from the equivalent period 12 months earlier.

In Brazil, which is another of the world's emerging auto markets, auto sales increased by 16.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis, according to dealership association Fenabrave.

Although sales of cars and light vehicles reached 261,922 units - boosted by economic growth and an increase in tax credits - this figure was 22.4 per cent lower than the total recorded in March.

Carmakers' association Anfavea told the Wall Street Journal that Brazilian manufacturers will invest about $11.2 billion on new models, technologies and expansion in the country between 2010 and 2012.

Moving to South Africa, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers confirmed that 35,763 units were sold in April, signalling a 36 per cent year-on-year rise.

The findings further emphasise an improvement in the country's auto market, which posted its first annualised increase for almost three years in January.

Finally, official figures from Canada suggested that sales were up by four per cent from a year ago, with Ford, Chrysler and Hyundai outperforming General Motors, Toyota and Honda.

Sources:

Spanish car sales rise 39.3 pct in April-ANFAC (03/05/10)

Auto Sales in France Slow Down (04/05/10)

Italy April New Car Sales Fall 15.65-Ministry (03/05/10)

U.S.A.: April auto sales up 20 percent in gradual recovery (03/05/10)

India: Auto sales see double digit growth in April (02/05/10)

Brazil Auto Makers To Invest $11.2B In 2010-12-Anfavea Head (30/04/10)

S.Africa's vehicle sales up 36.0 pct y/y in April (04/05/10)

Canadian auto sales rise in April, but not by much (03/05/10)

Brazil April Auto Sales Rise 16.7% On Year-Dealers Group (05/05/10)

Toyota Leads Increase in Japan's April Vehicle Sales (06/05/10)

Germany: New car sales worsen in April (05/05/10)

U.K.: Car sales grow more slowly in April (07/05/10)

Indian April car sales rise 39.5 pct, best in decade (10/05/10)

Growth in China passenger car sales slows in April (10/05/10)

Europe April car sales fall as incentives fade (17/05/10)

Volkswagen Sales Rise 11% in April as China, U.S. Demand Grows (17/05/10)

U.K.: Car production up 44% in April (20/05/10)

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