The latest figures issued by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) show that European Union (EU) new car registrations recorded in May this year totaled 1,106,845 units, down by 8.7 percent compared to May 2011, indicating a year-on-year decrease for the eighth consecutive month. In May, new car registrations in the EU rose by 8.7 percent compared to April this year.
In May this year, the UK was the only major market to post year-on-year growth with an increase of 7.9 percent, while the other major markets faced contractions ranging from 4.8 percent in Germany to 8.2 percent in Spain, 14.3 percent in Italy and 16.2 percent in France.
Meanwhile, in the first five months of this year, new car registrations totaled 5,442,326 units in the EU, with a decrease of 7.7 percent from the same period of 2011. In particular, in the first five months of 2012, Germany (0.3 percent) and the UK (2.6 percent) saw their markets expand slightly, while Spain dropped 7.3 percent, and France (-17.2 percent) and Italy (-18.9 percent) posted significant contractions, all compared to the same period last year.