Car sales are going through the roof with Europe's surprising spending recovery
Sales rose 6.9% in the year to April alone, and 8.2% over the first four months of the year, compared to the first four months of 2014, according to the latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Car sales are often used as not just a barometer of spending, but a gauge of economic confidence and security. If you're afraid for your job, a big-ticket purchase like a car is something you're going to delay.
Greece saw very impressive growth in April alone, with sales up 43.3% from the same month in 2014. But as Pantheon Macroeconomics' Claus Vistesen points out, in total sales are still below 1990 levels.
The Telegraph's Mehreen Khan also suggests that this spike may not be a sign of confidence - it may be more about Greeks looking for somewhere other than banks to put their money.
It's easy to pick out the countries that have had particularly strong cyclical recoveries in the last year. Over the first four months of the year, four nations in the eurozone saw sales growth of over 15% compared to the same month last year: Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal:
ACEA, Business Insider