PARIS (Reuters) - PSA Group's global vehicle deliveries rose 38 percent in the first half thanks to last year's acquisition of Opel-Vauxhall, the French carmaker said on Thursday.
Sales rose to 2.18 million vehicles from 1.58 million a year earlier, PSA said.
Excluding Opel and its Vauxhall sister brand, sales rose a more modest 1.9 percent, with European growth partially offsetting the start of a Middle East sales slump as the maker of Peugeots and Citroens withdraws from Iran under threat of U.S. sanctions.
Middle East deliveries by the French brands fell 25.8 percent, the group said, reflecting the deconsolidation of Iran sales from May 1.
In Europe, however, a rejuvenated SUV lineup helped lift deliveries by 8.4 percent, excluding the Opel-Vauxhall business.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
