General Motors has announced that sales for its entire European division rose by ten per cent last month.

The figure offers some genuine encouragement for the automotive industry, marking GM's best figures for June since 1999.

In a statement GM announced it sold 177,600 cars and light commercial vehicles in western and central Europe last month.

GM Europe, whose brands include Opel, Vauxhall, Saab and Daewoo, said in March that it was in danger of missing the targets it had set itself at the beginning of the year.

However, the launch of a number of new brands has helped the firm to deliver a better than expected performance last month, with some analysts now optimistic that the downturn in the market can be tackled.

The Opel and Vauxhall brands saw June sales rise nine per cent from a year ago in western and central Europe, while Saab sales worldwide rose 3.4 per cent over the first six months.

While the market remains broadly flat the figures from GM follow predictions from experts at Autopolis who anticipate a brisk recovery in the automotive sector from 2005.

By 2010 it anticipates volumes being 19 per cent higher than they were last year, boosted mainly by Asian growth.