The latest figures issued by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) show a rise of 7.1 percent year on year in European Union (EU) new car registrations recorded in May, which totaled 1,208,583 units.
In May, new car registrations saw year-on-year increases in Germany (+22 percent), France (+6.1 percent) and Italy (+3.6 percent), whereas year-on-year decreases were seen in Spain (-23.3 percent) and the United Kingdom (-1.7 percent).
However, in the January-May period this year, new car registrations in the EU were down by 0.8 percent over the same period of 2010. In particular, in the first five months of 2011, the UK (-7.3 percent), the Italian market (-15.1 percent) and Spain (-25.7 percent) saw contractions in the number of new car registrations.
In May, Italy-based carmaker Fiat Group's sales in the EU rose by 0.2 percent year on year to 90,820 units, while the group's share in the EU car market fell to 7.3 percent, as compared to 7.8 percent recorded in May 2010.