NEW car sales in western Europe rose 5.2 per cent in August year on year to 1,157,200 cars, following a 16.2 per cent jump in July, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said yesterday.

So far this year, new car registrations have increased by 6.2 per cent to 9,083,400, ACEA said. France showed the strongest growth of all national markets in August with a rise of 28.6 per cent. Germany showed an increase of 5.2 per cent due to replacement demand as new models were introduced.