European new car market continued to shrink in October

16 November 2012

In October, the EU market of new passenger cars continued to shrink, although at a slightly slower pace than in the previous months, according to data released by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). New registrations totaled 959,412 cars, or 4.8% less than in October last year. From January to October, new car registrations amounted to 10,327,276 units, or 7.3% less in than in the first ten months of 2011.

Results in October were diverse across countries, leading to an overall 4.8% downturn in the EU. While the German market remained quite stable (+0.5%), the UK expanded by 12.1%. France (-7.8%), Italy (-12.4%) and Spain (-21.7%) performed worse than in the same month a year ago.

From January to October, the UK was the only major market to post growth (+5.0%). The German (-1.6%) slightly contracted, while Spain (-11.9%), France (-13.3%) and Italy (-19.7%) faced a double-digit downturn. Overall, new car registrations were down 7.3% ten months into the year, compared to the same period a year earlier.