April 18 (Reuters) - European automotive supplier Forvia reported 3.1% organic growth in first-quarter sales on Thursday, outpacing global car production driven by strong North America.

Forvia, born from Faurecia's takeover of Hella in 2022, reported sales of 6.53 billion euros for the first three months of 2024. That was down 1.7% on a reported basis compared to 6.64 billion euros a year earlier.

Estimated worldwide automotive production dropped to 21.20 million vehicles in the quarter, compared to 21.37 last year, Forvia said in an earnings statement. (Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)