LATEST analysis of European new car sales has shown that the mini MPV segment continues to lead the way.

The sector saw sales rise in July by almost 20% on the same month the previous year with the Renault Scenic maintaining its lead and increasing its sales 41% month-on-month and 39.2% year-to-date.

Findings produced by JATO show that the Volkswagen Golf remains Western Europe's best selling car, with 334,163 sales year-to-date, ahead of the Peugeot 206, Peugeot 307, Opel Astra and Renault Megane.

In the upper-medium sector, sales were down in July by 7.53%, while in the premium upper-medium sector they were 4.58% lower in July and 6.67% down year-to-date.

The findings suggest that sales fell by 9.6% in the mini segment during July, compared to the same month the previous year. The Fiat Panda led the segment followed by the smart fortwo and Renault Twingo. The supermini segment, led by the Peugeot 206, Renault Clio and Fiat Punto, is also down for July but slightly up year-to-date.