New passenger car registrations in European Union member states (EU-27) fell by 7.4 percent in April this year compared to the same month last year and were down 30.7 percent month on month, according to a report released on May 17 by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Meanwhile, in the first four months of 2010 the passenger car market in the EU-27 expanded by 4.8 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, while shrinking by 11.6 percent in comparison to January-April 2008.
The decline in April registrations, the first in ten months, is linked to the upturn in registrations last year when a growing number of markets had started to benefit from fleet renewal incentives. In the first months of this year, however, government support has ended or begun to fade out and the economic situation remains difficult.
In absolute numbers, a total of 1,134,701 new cars were registered in the EU-27 in April. Among the largest markets, Germany registered the largest number of new cars with 259,414 units, though new registrations declined the most (-31.7 percent) percentage wise, followed by Italy with a 15.7 percent decline, the Czech Republic with a 13.2 drop, Poland with 11.9 percent and Austria with 11.6 percent. The steepest decline was noted in Bulgaria with a drop 50.8 percent. By contrast, the market expanded in France by 1.9 percent, in the UK by 11.5 percent, in Belgium by 20.3 percent and in Spain by 39.3 percent.
In the January-April period of 2010, a total of 4,809,647 new passenger cars were registered in the EU-27, or 4.8 percent more than in the same period last year. Most of the larger markets increased registrations, ranging from an increase of 7.5 percent in Austria to 12.9 percent in France, 13.4 percent in Italy, 23.9 percent in the UK, 43.2 percent in Spain and 59.1 percent in Portugal. Germany (-25.5 percent) and Poland (-10.5 percent), however, recorded a decline.