European passenger car registrations turned positive in June

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- The market for new passenger cars in Europe grew by 2.4 percent in the 12 months to June, to 1,461,859 units, according to new figures from ACEA, the European car makers' federation. The modest increase follows 14 consecutive months of declining markets.

Cumulative figures for the first half of 2009 show an 11% drop in European new car registrations compared to the same period in 2008, with a total of 7,425,762 new cars registeredcompared to 8,346,828 the year before.

New registrations in Western Europe rose by 4.6% in June, totaling 1,382,189 units. Countries with an incentive scheme mostly posted growth, with particularly strong demand in Germany (+40.5%), which is the largest market in Europe.

In the first six months, only Germany (+26.1%) and France (+0.2%) performed better than in 2008. Overall, the West European market declined by 9.8%. Italy (-10.7%), the UK (-25.9%) and Spain (-38.3%) all recorded a double-digit decrease.

In the new EU Member States, new car registrations fell by 25.3% in June, with only the Czech Republic (+18.0%) and Slovakia (+57.4%) posting growth.

Six months into the year, Slovakia (+18.4%), the Czech Republic (+7.9%) and Poland (+0.2%) saw their markets expand while the overall market in the region decreased by -27.1%.

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Press release from ACEA