European new car registrations up 3.6 percent in April - ACEA

By Edward Taylor

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - New car registrations in Europe rose 3.6 percent in April, with mass-market marques Ford (N:F), Fiat (MI:FIA), Renault (PA:RENA) and Opel showing stronger growth than premium brands, data showed on Friday, as heavy discounts helped boost a fragile sales recovery.

Registrations in the European Union and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) rose 6.3 percent in the first four months of the year, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturer's Association ACEA.

The data showed demand for passenger cars in the EU increased for an eighth consecutive month, with a 28.7 percent jump in registration in Spain helping to offset a 3.6 percent fall in sales in Germany.

Sales rose 1.9 percent in Italy, 5.8 percent in France and 8.2 percent in Britain.

Analysts said discounts, government incentives and cut-price sales of unused vehicles marketed as "nearly new" continued to prop up sales in a market expected to show modest growth this year after six straight years of contraction.

"Our most recent April channel checks suggest a stabilisation of discounts in Europe on a high level," analysts at JP Morgan said in a note on Wednesday.

Last month, confidential research seen by Reuters showed that average retail incentives had jumped 12 percent to almost 2,750 euros (2263 pounds) per vehicle in the five biggest European markets, with discounting outpacing sales growth.

The fact that discounts had not risen from March levels may be an indication that the price war in Europe is not getting any worse, lending credence to the notion that prices have stabilised, JP Morgan said.

April registrations for Peugeot (PA:PEUP), Renault and Opel (part of General Motors ) rose 5.8 percent, 9.0 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, the ACEA data showed. New car registrations were up 7.3 percent at Ford and 3 percent at Fiat.

By contrast, Mercedes-Benz (DE:DAIGn) registrations rose just 1.1 percent and rival premium brand Audi (owned by Volkswagen ) saw sales grow just 0.6 percent. BMW (DE:BMWG) registrations rose 2.3 percent.

Volkswagen and Hyundai (KS:005380) were the only mass-market brands to see declines in April, recording a drop of 0.8 percent and 4.4 percent respectively, ACEA figures show.

(Editing by David Holmes)