The German car market rose only slightly in April. 266.251 units were sold, reflecting a growth of 2.6 percent compared to April 2010. This according to data released by the Kraftfahrtbundesamt. Despite rising gasoline prices, SUVs (+35.5 percent) are gaining popularity. So do cars by Opel, with +20.9 percent the domestic brand with the strongest growth. Hyundai (+38.3 percent) is the third largest import brand, behind such “imports” as Renault/Dacia and Skoda.

Germans bought 274 pure EVs in April and 1,036 hybrids. The market share of diesel climbed to 46.7 percent.

Detailed data for all brands can be downloaded here.

Elsewhere in Europe, French car sales fell 11.2 percent in April, reflecting the final end of the country’s scrappage scheme.

In Italy, new car sales dropped 2.2 percent to the lowest level in 15 years, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile in India, new car sales in the domestic market moderated to a growth of 13 per cent, the Business Standard reports.