In March this year, new car registrations in the European Union were 10.8 percent higher than in the same month of 2009, registering the best monthly result since March 2007, according to a report released on March 16 by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2010 registrations rose by 9.2 percent compared to the first three months of last year. Registrations in Q1 2010 fell by 9.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008.
In March, most major markets recovered ground compared to early 2009, reflecting the ongoing effect of government incentive programs. In contrast, German registrations shrank by 26.6 percent to 294,375 units in March. In total, 1,637,478 new cars were registered in the EU, the best monthly result since March 2007. The UK accounted for almost 400,000 new cars, or 26.6 percent more than in 2009, thereby becoming the largest EU market this month. Registrations were up 19.6 percent in Italy and rose by 17.9 percent in France. Demand in Spain jumped by 63.1 percent compared to the low levels of 2009, claiming fifth rank in absolute figures with 124,756 units. Results in other European markets were mixed, with an increase of 40.6 percent in the Czech Republic and a drop of 53.3 percent in Hungary.
In the first quarter of the year, 3,671,871 new passenger cars were registered in the EU, or 9.2 percent more than in the same quarter a year ago. Of the major markets, only Germany recorded negative results with a decrease of 22.8 percent, while France (+16.9 percent), Italy (+23.3 percent), the UK (+27.3 percent) and Spain (+44.5 percent) all posted growth. In absolute figures, Germany ranked first with 670,410 units, followed by Italy with 666,231 units, the UK with 611,548 units, France with 594,720 units and Spain with 286,167 units.
