PARIS: European car sales advanced a seventh consecutive month as new models to replace aging vehicles and an economic rebound in Britain boosted demand at Renault, Ford and Peugeot Citroen.

Registrations in March jumped 10 percent to 1.49 million vehicles, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association, or ACEA, said.

The gain was led by an 18 percent surge in Britain, which accounted for one-third of the region’s deliveries.

Demand is rising as consumer confidence in Europe strengthens and the sovereign-debt crisis recedes in Spain, Greece and Portugal. Sales rose 29 percent in March at Renault, 14 percent at Ford and 11 percent at Peugeot. British registrations rose a 25th consecutive month in March and beat figures in Germany, the region’s biggest market by annual sales.

“The numbers for the first quarter and in particular for March are superb,” Hans-Peter Wodniok, an analyst at Fairesearch in Kronberg, Germany, said by phone.

Britain “is really the driving force when you look at the other large European markets.”

The industrywide gain in March was the biggest since December. In Britain, which overtook France to become Europe’s second-biggest auto market in 2012, sales amounted to 464,824 cars amid a semiannual changeover of license-plate numbers that indicate a vehicle’s age and after wage growth accelerated and the unemployment rate declined. The gain compared with a 5.4 percent increase in Germany to 296,408 cars.

“These British guys seem to be mad about new cars,” Wodniok said.

The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for Britain on April 8, predicting Britain will have the fastest growth among developed nations.

The economy will expand 2.9 percent this year, outpacing the 1.2 percent increase predicted for the countries using the euro, according to the Washington-based IMF.

European sales growth at Renault, based in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, was propelled by a 51 percent surge at the low-cost Dacia division, which has revamped its Duster sport-utility vehicle and Sandero hatchback. The Captur crossover, introduced about a year ago, helped Renault-brand sales rise 23 percent.

“There is a big recovery coming in Europe,” CEO Carlos Ghosn said in an interview on April 15 at the opening of a plant by Japanese automotive partner Nissan Motor Co. in Resende, Brazil.

The Peugeot brand posted a 13 percent jump in European sales, while demand at the Citroen marque rose 8.5 percent.

The Paris-based automaker, the second-largest in the region, is reorganizing to restore profit after two years of losses.

The company said this month that it will add production of the Peugeot 2008 compact SUV as the model garnered 120,000 orders.