SALES of new vehicles in the lower-medium, small MPV and SUV segments continued to grow during the first six months of the year, latest analysis has shown. The lower and upper-medium segment showed solid growth, according to the analysis, with this success led by products such as the new Vauxhall/Opel Astra, Peugeot 407 and new Volkswagen Passat.

The report by Jato added: ‘The premium-compact lower medium segment performed particularly strongly, up 45.3% (79,392 units). SUV sales were 11% higher than in the first six months of 2004. Supermini, the largest segment, lost volume (down 5.9%) and share (down 1.6%).’

An analysis of market performance found that Denmark’s new car sales grew 25% in the first half of the year, with other significant increases noted in Ireland, France, Portugal and Spain.

Sales were stable in Austria, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Norway but fell in countries including Switzerland, Hungary, Greece and the UK.

In June, Jato found that BMW and Toyota recorded significant sales increases, up 20.7% and 14.8% respectively, while top-selling brands, including Renault (+0.7%) and Volkswagen (+1.3%), also increased sales.

Outside the top 10, Kia was the fastest-growing volume brand, with first-half sales up 62.3%.