PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) - French new passenger car sales rose 6.1 percent in March, auto makers' association CCFA said on Friday.
March was the last month expected to show the effects of an incentive scheme to trade in older models for newer ones in France, as cars bought before the programme expired in December could be registered until the end of March.
The scheme, like similar ones launched in many other markets, boosted car sales after the industry was hit by a savage downturn.
257,631 new passenger cars were registered last month, the CCFA said in a statement.
In the first three months of the year, passenger car sales rose 8.9 percent.
Sales of light commercial vehicles rose 4.7 percent last month, and 8.6 percent in January to March, the CCFA said.
(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford; Editing by Christian Plumb)