In September, demand for new cars in the European Union increased by 5.4 percent, amounting to 1,159,066 units, from the record low volumes registered in September 2012, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). In the meantime, in the January-September period of the current year, new car registrations declined by 3.9 percent year on year to 9,000,629 vehicles.
In September, most major markets posted growth, from +3.4 percent in France to +12.1 percent in the UK and +28.5 percent in Spain. Italy (-2.9 percent) and Germany (-1.2 percent) saw their new car registrations decrease.
In the first nine months of this year, the UK was the only significant market to record an increase (+10.8 percent). Downturn prevailed across other major markets, ranging from -1.6 percent in Spain to -6.0 percent in Germany, -8.3 percent in Italy and -8.5 percent in France, leading to an overall 3.9 percent contraction in the EU.