A happy new year for Europe's carmakers? At least it's a new year

Last year will go down as the sixth year of the longest ever automotive slump in Europe, but the market was showing signs of recovery in the second half.  By the end of the year, even car sales in the hard hit economies of Greece, Spain and Italy were rising, and Spanish and Greek car sales ended the year slightly higher.  Europe's big markets all recorded higher sales in December, but it was particularly encouraging to see the gains in the countries hammered by the debt crisis, said Matthias Wissmann, president of the German auto industry association VDA.

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