EU registrations rose 14.5% in September; a rise largely attributed to lower-than-usual sales in the same month last year.

September’s rise in EU car registrations was largely the result of a low base of comparison

Latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show that 1.2 million cars were registered last month. However, this follows the 23.5% fall seen in September 2018 following the introduction of the WLTP testing regime.

All EU member states posted increases last month, bar Bulgaria, with four of the five major EU markets actually recording double-digit gains: Germany (+22.2%), Spain (+18.3%), France (+16.6%) and Italy (+13.4%). By contrast, in the United Kingdom market recovery was very limited (+1.3%), as Brexit-related uncertainties continued to affect consumer confidence.

The year-to-date picture is less positive though, with registrations down 1.6% compared to the same period the year before. Germany (+2.5%) was the only major market to post positive results so far this year. Spain (-7.4%) saw the strongest drop, followed by the United Kingdom (-2.5%), Italy (-1.6%) and France (-1.3%).