Are personal savings financing new car sales boom?

New passenger car sales posted a tenth consecutive annual rise in April, underpinning hopes that the economy is recovering from its slowdown. Figures published by car market monitoring agency Samar showed that some 31,281 new cars were sold in April, up nearly 12% from the previous month and 21% higher than in the same month of 2002. Fiat, remained the leader with a market share of 18%, as sales reached 20,642 units in the first four months, up 18% from last year. Volkswagen's Czech unit Skoda was second with a 12% market share, or 13,069 units. VW itself, sold 6,000 cars and holds a 5% market share. The third position belongs to France's Renault, which holds 11% of the market. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10; Reuters) A.K.