German car sales jump despite scandal

BERLIN: German car sales jumped in May despite another fall in demand for diesel vehicles in the wake of the emissions scandal that has engulfed the Volkswagen Group. New car registrations in Europe’s biggest auto market climbed by 12.9 per cent to 323,952 in May compared to the same month last year, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) said. The increase in sales comes against a backdrop of higher wages, a robust jobs market and record low unemployment. However, new registrations of diesel vehicles accounted for only 40.4 per cent of the car sales in May — down from 46.3 per cent a year earlier.  — DPA