Fiat, Renault-Nissan lead slowing European market rebound

PARIS (Reuters) - Renault (RENA.PA), Japanese partner Nissan and rival automaker Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI) led European car sales higher in May, according to industry data published on Tuesday, but the overall pace of the market recovery slowed.

Registrations rose 1.4 percent year-on-year to 1.15 million cars last month, the Brussels-based Association of European Carmakers said in a statement, well short of the market's 8.1 percent expansion in January-April.

May sales marked the "lowest percentage increase since the beginning of this period of consecutive growth", the association said. The weaker gain also reflected the timing of holidays that left fewer selling days than in May 2014.

Fiat Chrysler posted a 9 percent gain in registrations, essentially thanks to the Fiat brand, while Renault's sales advanced 5.4 percent on recent models such as its Clio small car and Captur mini-sport utility vehicle (SUV).

Nissan, Renault's 43.4 percent-owned affiliate, saw registrations surge almost 14 percent on its popular Qashqai SUV, while French rival PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) suffered a 5.2 percent slump, punished by an ageing Citroen lineup.

Sales at Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), Europe's biggest carmaking group, fell 2 percent overall with its premium Audi marque dropping 5.9 percent.

Other luxury carmakers fared better. BMW (BMWG.DE) brand sales were up 2.2 percent and Mercedes-Benz (DAIGn.DE) rose 5.3 percent.

(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)