European brands slow the sales surge of Asian rivals.(Brief article)

Byline: Jesse Snyder

Traditional European automakers slowed the progress of Asian import brands last year - and kept most of the region's slight sales increase themselves.

Passenger-car sales in 26 European countries rose 0.7 percent to 15,364,997 units last year, a modest gain of 110,404 vehicles from 2005, according to ACEA, the European car manufacturers association.

For European brands, it was the first time in recent years that Asian brands didn't take all the market growth.

Six Japanese automakers and three Korean automakers captured a big 3.2 points of market ...