BERLIN (AP) -- Car sales in Germany were up more than 20 percent on the year in October, boosted by the lingering effects of an auto-scrapping bonus program, and the sector's exports also began to rise, industry groups said Tuesday.

Some 321,000 cars were registered in Germany last month, a 24 percent rise over October 2008, the VDA and VDIK groups said. While that figure was below the annual rises of around 40 percent seen earlier in the year, it was still strong.

German manufacturers exported 357,700 cars in October, an 8 percent year-on-year rise, VDA said. That was the first rise since the beginning of the economic crisis, it added.

"A turnaround can increasingly be seen in important export markets," VDA president Matthias Wissmann said.

Still, total exports for the first 10 months of the year were down 23 percent at 2.75 million.

That contrasted with new registrations in the German market, which were up 26 percent to 3.31 million between January and October.

Germany is home to car makers such as Daimler AG, Porsche SE, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG.

The government's euro5 billion ($7.4 billion) incentive program for new car buyers willing to scrap their old autos expired on Sept. 2, having given a strong boost to sales for much of this year.

VDIK, which represents car importers, said October's figures for registrations in Germany were helped by the delivery of vehicles ordered under the bonus scheme.

Total production was up 13 percent on the year in October at 506,500 cars, VDA said. But the year's first 10 months, production was down 14 percent at 4.1 million.