New car sales in Europe rose in February after falling in January, while sustained demand for electric vehicles helped Elon Musk's all-electric brand Tesla resume growth for the first time since December 2024, official data showed on Tuesday. Overall car registrations, a proxy for sales, in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association were up 1.7% to 979,321 vehicles sold in the month, according to the European auto lobby ACEA. Two-thirds of those were electrified, either battery-electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid. The EU and Britain are walking back some regulations aimed at reducing CO2 emissions after pressure from domestic carmakers who say they are struggling to turn a profit on EV sales while fending off competition from Chinese rivals.