European passenger car registrations decline in October

Brussels -- ACEA, the federation of European car makers, has reported its monthly statistics for October 2005.

Total Europe (EU-23 + EFTA) passenger car registrations in October 2005 amounted to 1,164,697 units, which represent a decrease of -2.6% with respect to October 2004. With a number of working days that was substantially the same (with the only exceptions of Germany and Slovenia, which had one less trading day), this figure points out to market conditions that remain uncertain. Cumulative figures for the first ten months of the year show a marginal decrease (-0.3%) for total Europe and an increase of similar proportions (+0.3%) for the EU-15.

Cumulative figures for the EU-23 see 14 countries posting growth, ranging from +46.2% in Latvia to +1.1% in Luxembourg, and 9 reporting losses, ranging from -0.2% in Austria to -27.3% in Poland. While the EU-15 (+0.3%) remains on a positive trend, EFTA countries (-1.4%) and new EU Member States (-10.9%) continue to post year-to-date losses, although reduced.