Electrified cars drive Europe auto sales growth as Chinese brands gain ground

(Corrects 2nd bullet point to say electrified cars accounted for almost 70%, not 80%, of new vehicles)

July 23 (Reuters) - Demand for electrified cars continued to underpin growth in Europe's auto market in June, offsetting a sharp decline in petrol and diesel sales, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed on Thursday.

Growth in car registrations, a proxy for sales, also helped Chinese brands expand their footprint further across the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association.

• Total car registrations rose 13.1% to 1,407,332 vehicles

• Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid car registrations climbed 51%, 22.7% and 17.1%, respectively, together accounting for almost 70% of all new vehicles

• Petrol and diesel car registrations fell 12.2% and 16.9% respectively

• Chinese automakers BYD, Chery and Leapmotor sold between almost three and six times more than last year, SAIC and Geely sales rose more than 50% and 11% respectively

• Registrations at Renault , Stellantis and Volkswagen rose between 3.6% and 7.3%

(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)