Sales of new cars almost doubled in May

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The sales of new cars have clearly picked up this year. According to AuT (The Finnish Information Centre of the Automobile Sector), more than 50,000 new cars have already been registered this year, which translates to a growth of 14 per cent compared with a year ago.
      In the month of May, the number of registered new cars (10,701) grew by nearly 50% from last year's May figure of around 7,200.
      According to the branch, the sales of used cars were also on the up last month.
     
The automobile sector has now raised its sales prediction for this year to 108,000 new cars.
      The previous forecast was around 10,000 units lower.
      The sector justifies the adjusted prediction, by pointing to the sustained low interest rates and the increased stock of orders coming in.
     
Last year only 90,000 new cars were registered, which is significantly below the peak years of the 2000s.
      At the height of the boom around 150,000 new cars were sold per year.
      In May, the most popular car model was the Skoda Octavia, with sales of 671 vehicles.
      In the figures covering the the whole year, the Octavia holds the runner-up spot position by a narrow margin behind the Volkswagen Golf. Both have sold more than 3,000 units in Finland so far this year.
      Other cars in the top ten include the Toyota Avensis, Nissan Qashqai, Kia Ceed, Opel Astra, and Ford Focus.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Car sales pick up appreciably as summer approaches (4.5.2010)

Helsingin Sanomat