On April 19, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) stated that in March this year a total of 1,558,915 new cars were registered in the EU-27, or five percent less than in March last year. The month counted on average the same number of working days across the region in 2010 and 2011. In the first quarter, demand for new cars decreased by 2.3 percent year on year, with 3,583,185 units registered.
Looking at new registrations in the major markets in the EU-27 region in March, France (+6.1 percent) and Germany (+11.4 percent) posted growth, while the UK (-7.9 percent), Italy (-27.6 percent) and Spain (-29.1 percent) indicated a downturn - all on year-on-year basis. In terms of volume, the UK recorded the most new registrations (366,101), followed by Germany (327,921) and France (257,533).
Turning to the figures for the first quarter, although most markets expanded, major ones such as the UK (-8.7 percent), Italy (-23.1 percent) and Spain (-27.3 percent) recorded losses, resulting in a 2.3 percent downturn across the region as a whole. The steepest fall was noted in Greece (-57.4 percent) and the largest growth was recorded in Latvia (+131.7 percent). The Latvian market remained, however, the smallest (1,902 units), while Germany registered the most new car registrations (763,403) in the first quarter.