European car sales rise despite VW emissions row

European car sales rose 6.3% to 1,093,565 vehicles in January, industry data showed, even as Europe’s largest car maker Volkswagen saw registrations of VW-branded cars fall 4% in the wake of a diesel emissions scandal.

VW’s rivals Ford and General Motors’s Opel-Vauxhall posted rises in sales of 11.4% and 12.4% respectively, according to car registration data for EU and European Free Trade Association countries.

Volkswagen as a whole saw sales rise 1% in January, buoyed by a 14% jump in registrations for its premium Audi division, according to the figures published by European auto industry body ACEA. In the EU, registrations rose to 1,061,150 last month, a 6.2% rise on a year ago and marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, ACEA said.