Undeterred by record fuel prices, Europeans continue to splash out for bulky fuel-guzzlers, rewarding manufacturers' efforts to improve efficiency and better market large, high-margin vehicles.
Petrol topped €1.30 per litre in Germany this week, but pump prices have not dampened Europeans' growing enthusiasm for sport utility vehicles (SUVs), nor have they increased sales of fuel-sipping diesel engines, noted Neil Hall, market analyst at car industry tracking firm JATO Dynamics.
"I can see a lot of trends occurring but it is all due to product launches rather than anything else," he said, playing down the impact of fuel prices on consumer buying patterns.
SUVs were the fastest-growing segment of the western European market in the first half, with sales up 11 per cent to 49,817 units while sales of mini-cars fell seven per cent, JATO says.
Mr Hall attributed this to demand for new SUV models such as the revamped Discovery made by Land Rover, a unit of Ford.
"The new Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are bringing new customers into the segment by selling a car-like product at a car-like price so you get a product that is tall like an SUV without any of the compromises," he added.
New SUV customers buying models such as the Range Rover Sport, Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Murano often prefer to outfit them with less-powerful two-litre engines, but this does not mark a general shift towards smaller motors, he added.
Small cars still account for nearly 30 per cent of the market given Europe's higher fuel prices, heavy taxes and cramped city roads.
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein analyst Arndt Ellinghorst argued that oil prices were not crucial to customers given the huge shift to diesel that has taken place in the past decade and the relative fuel efficiency of western Europe's auto fleet.
Pump prices are still not painful enough to change consumer attitudes in a big way, he said.
European carmakers have been raising the average mileage of their fleets for years while the average mileage of US vehicles has stagnated or even declined of late due to America's love of heavy and powerful cars, trucks and SUVs.