HAMBURG (Reuters) - German car sales jumped around 10 percent in May, the second-highest monthly increase this year, benefiting from more selling days and growing private demand, an auto industry source said.
Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe's largest auto market rose to more than 280,000 vehicles last month, from 256,385 a year earlier, the source said on Thursday, with five-month sales up between 6.5 percent and 6.8 percent.
Double-digit volume growth in Germany chimes with strong expansions of deliveries in France, Italy and Spain, the third, fourth and fifth biggest markets in the European Union (EU), where sales jumped 22 percent, 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
The four major markets account for about three quarters of new auto sales in the 28-nation EU.
Germany's KBA motor vehicles watchdog is expected to release a brand-by-brand breakdown of May registrations later on Thursday.