EU car sales rose last month, lifted by demand in all the major national markets.

The Association of European Carmakers (ACEA) said sales jumped 5.5%, to 935,640 vehicles, from January 2013.

It was the fifth consecutive month of growth in registrations, which have been supported by big discounting by manufacturers and competitive finance promotions.

All the major EU markets posted growth, with the UK and Spain up 7.6%, Germany up 7.2%, Italy up 3.2%, and France edging ahead 0.5%.

Sales in Greece rose 15.4%, Portugal jumped 31.8%, and Ireland was 32.8% better, supporting other data pointing to economic recovery in the countries.

However, in absolute figures, the total of 935,640 units registered marked the second lowest result to date for a month of January since ACEA began the series in 2003 with the enlarged EU.