Swedes snapping up more new cars: report

New car sales in Sweden took an unexpected jump in November, signaling a clear upward trend in the market, according to an industry group.

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In November, Sweden recorded 20,126 new car registrations, corresponding to a 14.3 percent increase from the same month last year, according to automotive industry association BIL Sweden.

“The new car market has definitely turned upward,” BIL Sweden head Bertil Moldén said in a statement.

However, new car sales for the year through November have slumped by 18.1 percent compared to last year, to 190,040 newly registered vehicles.

Meanwhile sales of Saab cars continue to plummet, although at a somewhat slower pace than previously.

Only 601 new Saabs were sold in November, a drop of 55 percent from the previous year.

The number of new Volvos sold, however, increased by 10.9 percent to 3,935.

So far this year, the Volvo V70 II has been the most popular new car in Sweden, with 18,650 new registrations in 2009, down somewhat from the 20,364 units sold during the corresponding period last year.

Another Volvo model, the V50, is the second most-sold car so far this year, with 10,107 vehicles sold, just shy of the 10,709 sold through November last year.

Meanwhile, truck sales continued to slump in November, with 3,080 new vehicles registered for the month, a 9.6 drop from the year before. In addition, sales of heavy trucks – vehicles weighing more than 16 tonnes – dropped by 38.5 percent.