EU new car sales rose in October with help from electric vehicles

New car registrations in Europe increased in October, driven by demand in France, Italy and Spain, as well as a rise in sales of fully electric vehicles.

Registrations, which reflect sales, rose 15% to 855,484 in October from a year ago, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, known as ACEA, said on Tuesday. France, Italy and Spain recorded double-digit increases, while registrations in Germany rose just 4.9%, reflecting the country’s slowing economy. New car sales rose 17% to around 8.8 million units between January and October, the industry group said.