NEW car sales in Western Europe rallied towards the end of last year to beat gloomy predictions of a collapse in demand.

The year ended with total sales of 14,390,163 million units – a drop of 2.9% compared to 2001. However, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), which produced the figures, said this was better than most forecasters' predictions.

Five countries announced sales increases: Denmark (+15.3%), Finland (+7%), the United Kingdom (+4.3%), Sweden (+3.2%) and Luxembourg (+1.4%).

Sales fell in all other countries, ranging from a -2.6% drop in Germany to -11.4% in Portugal.

European sales figures 2002
Country	Jan-Dec 02	Jan-Dec 01	Variance
Austria	278,908	293,528	-5.0%
Belgium	467,569	488,683	-4.3%
France	2,145,073	2,254,732	-4.9%
Germany	3,253,732	3,3341,718	-2.6%
Greece	268,489	280,214	-4.2%
Ireland	156,115	164,730	-5.2%
Italy	2,270,900	2,413,455	-5.9%
Netherlands	510,744	530,231	-3.7%
Spain	1,331,878	1,425,573	-6.6%
Sweden	254,589	246,581	+3.2%
United Kingdom	2,563,631	2,458,769	+4.3%
European Union	13,998,764	14,401,877	-2.8%