Some 4% more cars and motorbikes were sold in the Netherlands in the third quarter of 2017, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday. The sector is upbeat about 2018 and is forecasting growth to continue at about the same rate, the CBS said.

Turnover in the sector has increased for nearly three years, with the exception of the final quarter of 2016, which followed a sales peak at the end of 2015, the CBS said.

The third-quarter turnover gain was due almost entirely to a 7% rise in new passenger car sales. Some 4% more motor bikes were sold but the sale of commercial vehicles dropped by 3% in the quarter.