By Laurence Frost
PARIS (Reuters) - Budget brands like Dacia and Seat provided the bright spot as European car sales rose 1.2 percent last month, with mid-market manufacturers squeezed by consumer concerns over the economy.
Sales advanced to 989,457 cars in November, the Association of European Carmakers said on Tuesday, marking a 15th consecutive monthly gain and a 5.5 percent advance over the first 11 months of the year.
Renault's (PA:RENA) no-frills Dacia brand posted an 11 percent increase, thanks to models such as the Duster SUV, helping the group's deliveries to rise 3.9 percent and raising its market share to 9.5 percent.
European leader Volkswagen's (DE:VOWG_p) sales rose 2.5 percent after a similar 10 percent boost from Seat, its budget Spanish marque, lifting the group market share to 26.7 percent.
A Spanish market rebound and strong UK car sales are helping to offset faltering demand in Germany and a renewed downturn in France where high unemployment and weak consumer confidence are keeping customers out of dealerships.
"For as long as unemployment rates in Europe remain high and consumer confidence muted, we are not expecting growth in the European market to accelerate," Evercore ISI said in a note.
"We do expect the market to remain flat/improve slightly going forward assisted by growth in Germany next year."
European sales of competitively priced Hyundais (KS:005380) rose 5.7 percent, while mid-market rivals struggled. Ford (N:F) sales sagged 5.5 percent, General Motors' (N:GM) Opel was down 12 percent and PSA Peugeot Citroen (PA:PEUP) 2.9 percent lower.
Romano Valente, head of Italy's foreign carmakers' association UNRAE, said the negative signs from Germany and France only showed that the market has yet to stabilise and its recovery was choppy at best.
But there were some bright spots. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (N:FCAU) benefited from buoyant sales of Jeep's new Renegade compact SUV and healthy demand for its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee models as the brand expands in Europe. Jeep deliveries were up a healthy 57 percent to almost 35,000 vehicles so far this year.
Further still from the low-cost end of the market, premium brands also continued to defy the economic gloom.
BMW (DE:BMWG) sales rose 9.4 percent and Daimler advanced 4.8 percent, with Mercedes deliveries surging almost twice as much. Audi -- another VW division -- rose 3.7 percent, while Geely-owned [GEELY.UL] Volvo Car posted an 8.7 percent gain.
(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Milan; Editing by Dan Grebler/Keith Weir)