Car sales in Germany rose by three per cent for October, according to official statistics.

The report by German motor vehicle agency KBA states that new car registrations hit 289,653 units last month and are up four per cent for the first ten months when compared to last year.

However, the dramatic leap in last month's figures was partly due, the KBA claims, to an altering of the registration rules.

Under the new rules, some September registrations were included in October's figures and vehicles such as ambulances and mobile homes were listed as passenger cars for the first time.

Germany joined Italy as one of only a handful of European countries that avoided a drop in sales during October.

According to analysts JD Power-LMC, overall sales in Europe were down 2.3 per cent last month and sales in Spain fell by 9.6 per cent.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd