FRANKFURT, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Western European car sales jumped 9.6 percent in August, according to industry data released on Friday, boosted by buoyant demand in Germany, Great Britain and Southern Europe.
Passenger car registrations rose to 701,245 last month, data compiled by consulting firm LMC Automotive showed. LMC makes its forecast for Western Europe based on published national registration figures and smaller market estimates.
The numbers amount to a seasonally adjusted selling rate of 13.19 million cars per year, LMC said.
"The market is heading towards 13 million units for the full year," said Emiliano Lewis, a UK-based analyst with the consulting firm.
German sales rose 6.2 percent in August, according to data published earlier this week. Sales in Great Britain rose 9.6 percent, while car registrations in southern Europe, where August is traditionally a weak month, surged nearly 23.3 percent in Spain, 10.6 percent in Italy and 10 percent in France, LMC data showed. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by Thomas Atkins)