New car demand in the EU fell for the first time in March as momentum started to slow in some markets.

EU passenger car registrations were up 0.7% for the first quarter of 2018 but down 5.3% in March

New figures from the ACEA show that registrations last month totalled 1,792,599 new cars – down 5.3% and marking the first March drop since 2014. However, the organisation noted that 2017 saw the highest March figures on record.

Performance was mmixed among the main markets. In the UK, sales dropped by 15.7% while new car demand also declined in Italy (-5.8%) and Germany (-3.4%), but growth was posted in France (2.2%) and Spain (2.1%).

For the first three months of the year, registrations remained slightly positive (+0.7%) despite last month’s decline. Passenger car registrations grew in Spain (+10.5%), Germany (+4.0%) and France (+2.9%), while car demand fell in Italy (-1.5%) and the UK (-12.4%).

The ACEA also noted the strong performance of the new EU member states, as demand increased by 11.9% so far this year. Overall, 4,171,628 new cars were registered in the European Union during the first quarter of 2018.