MADRID, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Car sales in Spain rose by 2.1 percent in March year on year from a year earlier, according to data released on Monday.

The Spanish Association of Car Manufacturers (ANFAC), the Association of Dealers of the Automotive sector (FACONAUTO) and the Association of Car Dealers (GANVAM) posted a total of 128,175 cars sold in March.

Individuals bought 55,179 cars last month, which meant a 3.3-percent year-on-year fall. Purchases made by companies increased by 11.5 percent to 37,021 in March while the rental companies bought 35,975 cars, up 1.8 percent year on year.

The associations reported that in the first quarter of the year there were 340,311 purchases, an increase of 10.5 percent from a year ago.