Scrappage scheme sales have sparked a European recovery in new car sales by 7.5% in September.

The key models leading the sales charge were the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Punto, Fiat Panda and Renault Megane, which where the only best-sellers to increase their sales year-to-date (YTD).

The figures were recorded by automotive intelligence company JATO Dynamics which shows the YTD deficit across Europe has been reduced to 5.7% as a result of September’s performance.

David Di Girolamo, head of JATO Consult, remains unconvinced that these performances are sustainable: “We are still seeing the market recovery driven by small cars and new models – in other words, the popular choices in national scrappage schemes.

“This has clearly distorted the natural performance of some markets and models. Now the end is in sight for these incentives, we will be watching the market closely, to see if this recovery is sustainable.”

The Golf sold 59,552 new vehicles in September which represents a 56% increase over the same period last year, providing good news for the German carmaker, whose Polo and Passat models fared less well in the month and are down YTD by 3.3% and 15.8% respectively.

Ford is keeping up the pressure, selling 51,291 new Fiestas in September, 63.9% more than a year ago and over 12,000 more new registrations than the third-placed Opel/ Vauxhall Corsa.

Fiat enjoyed another buoyant sales period, with both its Punto and Panda featuring in the top 10 models with the Punto recording a 66.2% rise in sales for the month.

Renault’s new Megane rounds off the top 10, giving the French manufacturer the accolade of the highest percentage sales increase in the month with a rise of 90.4%.

Download: European new car market by country September 2009.