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Car makers in Europe felt something of a reprieve in June, as incentives from governments and dealers stemmed or reversed sales declines.

New-car registrations in France rose to 235,407 in June from 219,754 a year earlier, according to data published Wednesday by the French Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The association said the government's temporary cash incentives for car owners to scrap their old vehicles and buy new ones motivated car buying. But discounting by car makers and dealers also played a prominent role. Incentives accounted for 20% of French June new-car registrations, according to the association.

The rapid decline in Spanish car registrations during recent months also eased in June thanks to government aid, Spanish car manufacturers' association Anfac said Wednesday. Car registrations fell 16% from a year earlier in June after falling 39% in May and 46% in April, according to Anfac.

The government subsidies boosted individuals' car registrations 15% in June from a month earlier, Anfac said. It was the first month in more than two and a half years where registrations by individuals increased compared with the previous month.

Italian car sales bounced higher in June, rising 12.4% compared with June 2008, as government payments to people who trade in old cars for newer, less-polluting ones kicked in, data showed Wednesday. Overall, Italian new car registrations in June increased 12.4% to 209,315 vehicles. That compares with an 8.6% annual decline posted in May.

Along with the car-sales incentives, "the improvement of the economy, or at least expectations of improvement, could have played a factor" in June's rebound, according to Italian auto analysts Centro Studio Promotor.