BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Following a dip in the previous month, car manufacturers in the European Union sold more cars again in June. The number of newly registered cars in the EU rose by 4.3 percent year-on-year to around 1.1 million vehicles, according to the industry association Acea in Brussels on Thursday. Of the major manufacturing nations Germany, France, Italy and Spain, only France had to concede ground. In the first half of the year, new registrations rose by 4.5 percent to almost 5.7 million vehicles.

In terms of electric drive systems, only hybrid models saw an increase in June, while new registrations of purely electric cars and plug-in hybrids fell. Petrol and diesel cars were also registered slightly less, but remained relatively stable. The market share of cars powered by fossil fuels fell slightly to 47.1% in June. The market share of electric cars also declined, falling from 15.1% to 14.4%. Hybrid models, on the other hand, increased significantly and now account for 29.5%./nas/he