EU new car market puts in best performance in a decade
New car demand in the EU continued to rise with February registrations reaching their highest level since 2008.
In volume terms, last month saw the best February results since 2008.
The figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show the market grew by 4.3% last month, totalling 1,125,397 units. Nearly all major EU markets posted growth, except for the United Kingdom (-2.8%) – where car sales declined for the 11th consecutive month – Italy (-1.4%) and Spain (+13.0%) recorded the strongest gains, followed by Germany (+7.4%) and France (+4.3%).
For the first two months of the year, registrations were up by 5.8% in the European Union, reaching 2,378,965 units in total. UK demand was down (-5.1%). However, passenger car registrations continued to grow in Spain (+16.4%), Germany (+9.5%) and France (+3.4%) for January and February.
ACEAThe European new car market
Natalie Middleton
Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for nearly 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day. Natalie edits all the Fleet World websites and newsletters, and loves to hear about any latest industry news - or gossip.
