German car sales rise but lower for year so far

New car registrations in Germany, a key measure of demand in one of the most crucial sectors of Europe's top economy, increased in July, data showed on Friday. A total 253,146 new cars were registered last month, a rise of 2.1 percent compared to sales in the same month in 2012, according to the official KBA agency. But over the first seven months of the year combined, 1.756 million cars were registered, 6.7 percent fewer than in the same period a year earlier, the agency said in a statement. The European car industry overall has been hard hit by first the financial crisis and then by the effects of the eurozone debt crisis. However, top German manufacturers have held up better than many other carmakers in Europe, particularly with the export of high-quality cars.