European car registrations down by 'only' 9 percent in March

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- According to ACEA, registrations of new padssenger cars were down by 9 percent in March 2009, compared with the same month in 2008. This compares with declines of 18 percent and 27 percent in February and January respectively. Registrations in Germany were up by almost 40 percent, following incentives from the German government.

Although the rate of decline is diminishing, this represents the 11th consecutive month of lower car sales. The result was lifted by the on average 3 more working days across the region and the effect of fleet renewal schemes in a number of countries. Over the first quarter of 2009, the market was down by 17.2% with a total of 3,439,720 new registrations compared to 4,154,778 units in the same period last year.

Western Europe recorded 1,429,445 new passenger car registrations in March (-8.0%). The result was boosted by the 39.9% expansion of the German market, where consumers continued to respond widely to the government's incentive scheme introduced in January. Similar developments underpinned the markets in France (+8.0%) and Italy (+0.2%) as well.

In the UK, where March is usually a strong month, registrations fell by 30.5%, reflecting the overall persisting lack of confidence in the economy. This sentiment also prevailed in Spain (-38.7%). Three months into the year, new registrations were down 16.3% in Europe*. The German market was the only one to post growth (+18.0%). The downturn hit the Spanish (-43.1%) and the British (-29.7%) markets hardest. The Italian and French markets were down 19.1% and -3.9%. Among the smaller markets, Luxemburg (-10.4%), Switzerland (-12.3%), Austria (-12.9%) and Belgium (-15.3%) performed best while Ireland and Iceland posted a decline of 64.9% and 91.3% respectively.

In the new EU Member States, 76,803 new cars were registered in March, or 25.4% less than last year. Poland and the Czech Republic, two of the major markets in the region, posted a growth of 2.5% and 0.9% respectively. Slovakia also recorded a strong increase of 18.2% following the introduction of a car scrapping scheme. Looking at the cumulative figures from January to March, Poland consolidated its position as the largest market with a total of 87,939 new registrations and a 1.3% upturn. Latvia performed worst with a contraction by 77.9%.

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Press release from ACEA