By Costas Pitas
LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Strong demand for German cars helped lift European sales in September, industry data showed on Friday, contributing to the 25th consecutive month of growth in the European Union.
Nearly all manufacturers sold more cars in September this year compared with last year but BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen had the biggest numerical rises and their sales increases were also among the five biggest by percentage among the major volume brands.
Incentive schemes to buy new cars and scrap older ones and the continuing economic recovery across southern Europe helped lift demand, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said, taking total sales up 9.8 percent year-on-year in the EU and EFTA countries to 1.39 million cars.
The bulk of sales had occurred before the full extent of the diesel emissions scandal engulfed Volkswagen.
Sales for Volkswagen last month were up 8.3 percent at 325,497 cars with strong rises across its VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT brands, the data showed.
Meanwhile sales at Daimler rose by 19 percent to 85,866 vehicles, while BMW's sales were up 17.1 percent, lifted by strong demand for its British Mini brand.
At the lower end of the scale, French automakers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen recorded the smallest percentage rises in sales last month, of 5.1 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.
However Renault's sales are up 7.9 percent in the first nine months of this year, while Mitsubishi has seen the biggest percentage rise this year, up 32.9 percent, followed by volume firm Nissan.
In Britain, where the new car market normally gets a boost in September due to the half-year change in registration plate numbers indicating how old a car is, sales rose 8.6 percent to 462,517 cars.
In Spain sales increased by 22.5 percent to 69,826 cars, and in Italy they were up 17.2 percent at 130,071.
Germany saw the smallest rise of any major market, up by 4.8 percent, whereas smaller nations Estonia and Luxembourg were the only two EU countries where available data showed a drop in demand. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)