Incentives lift June new car sales - ACEA

PARIS (Reuters) - European new car sales rose 2.4 percent in June, boosted by scrapping incentive schemes in several member states, the first increase in 14 months for the crisis-hit industry, industry body ACEA said on Wednesday.

ACEA noted that the "steep downward trend" of sales started in May 2008, and that in June last year, sales were down 7.9 percent compared with June 2007. In June this year, a total of 1,461,859 vehicles were registered.

In the first six months of the year, passenger car sales were down 11 percent in Europe, which for ACEA's figures includes the 27 EU member states, plus the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries, but excludes Cyprus and Malta.

New member states saw a 25.3 percent fall in sales in June, with growth only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia -- up 18 percent and 57.4 percent respectively.

In Western Europe, sales rose 4.6 percent in June. Most countries with incentive schemes -- whereby drivers get cash bonuses for trading in old models for newer, greener cars -- posted growth.

Sales in Germany jumped 40.5 percent, Italian sales rose 12.4 percent and French sales were up 7.0 percent. Newer support measures in the UK, which posted a 15.7 percent drop, and Spain -- down 15.9 percent -- cushioned the downturn, ACEA said.

Renault (RENA.PA) Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said last week that 2010 would be as hard as 2009 for the industry, and that the end of scrapping schemes could be difficult.

French industry minister Christian Estrosi on Monday promised that the country's scrapping scheme would be phased out gradually.

However, Germany's BMW (BMWG.DE) sounded a more positive note on Tuesday, when its sales and marketing chief told the Financial Times that the carmaker was ready to increase production in the next six months, amid signs the worst could be over for the high-end sector.

(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford)