European new-car registrations in June rose 2.4% year-on-year, the first market increase in 14 months, as government-backed scrapping incentives fueled demand in more than 10 countries.

New-car registrations in Europe last month climbed to 1.46 million vehicles, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, said Wednesday.

In the first half of the year, registrations in Europe, a key source of earnings for global automakers, dropped 11% from the same period last year to 7.43 million vehicles.

Registrations in Western Europe were up 4.6% at 1.38 million in June and fell 9.8% on the year in the January-to-June period to 6.98 million passenger cars.

Despite the scrapping incentives, General Motors Corp.'s (GMGMQ) troubled European division in June posted an 8.4% fall in new-car registrations to 133,373 vehicles as a 16% rise at its Chevrolet brand failed to offset a 8.9% decline at its core Opel/Vauxhall brand.

GM currently is discussing several offers to sell a majority stake in Opel and Vauxhall.

Fiat SpA (F.MI) posted a 11.7% rise year-on-year to 125,640 vehicle, making it the best-performing automaker in Europe as the scrapping incentives fostered demand for its small cars.

New-car registrations at Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE), Europe's largest automaker by sales, were up 9.5% on the year in June at 312,302 vehicles, driven by its core VW brand.

Company Web site: www.acea.be

-By Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 512; christoph.rauwald@dowjones.com