According to data released on December 15 by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), in November a rise of 30.6 percent in new car registrations was recorded in Western Europe and a drop of 16.7 percent seen in new car registrations in the new European Union member states, resulting in an overall growth of 26.6 percent in the European (EU-27 plus EFTA) new car market. All comparisons are on year-on-year basis.
In the January-October period of this year, new car registrations in the European market shrunk by 2.8 percent year on year, amounting to 13,406,382 units.
In Western Europe, new car registrations totaled 1,116,845 units in November, increasing by 30.6 percent compared to the same month last year. In November, British new car registrations expanded by 57.6 percent, Spanish registrations by 37.3 percent, German figures by 19.7 percent, French figures by 48.3 percent, while Italian registrations rose by 31.2 percent, all compared to November 2008.
In the first eleven months of the current year, new car registrations in Western Europe declined slightly by 0.7 percent year on year, reaching 12,628,319 units. A rise of 25.4 percent was recorded in Germany, a rise of 7.6 percent was observed in France and an increase of 7.9 percent was seen in Austria. Meanwhile, the demand for new cars decreased by 20.8 percent in Spain, fell by 8.8 percent in the UK and was down 1.4 percent in Italy.
In the new EU member states, new car registrations dropped by 16.7 percent year on year in November. Only the Czech Republic and Slovenia posted growth in the given month, with 31.5 percent and 3.7 percent respectively. Elsewhere, the downturn ranged from 23.9 percent (Slovakia) to 84.9 percent (Latvia).
In the January-November period, the overall decline in new car registrations was 27.4 percent for the new EU member states, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
