EU new car market continues uptrend

Brussels – EU new car registrations continued its uptrend for the seventh month in a row in February, mainly reflecting the ‘low base of comparison’ in 2021.

During the month, the passenger car market grew by 11.5% year-on-year to 802,763 units, significantly higher than the levels of 2022, when the industry was hit by semiconductor shortage crisis.

According to the European Automotive Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), most EU markets showed strong growth, including the four largest ones.

Spain and Italy posted the significant increases at 19.2% and 17.4% respectively.

Year-to-date, new car sales were up 11.4% year-on-year at 1.6 million units, helped by double-digit increases in both January and February.

Over the two months, Spain witnessed the largest increase at 32.1%, followed by Italy which posted an 18.2% increase.

France also saw growth at 9.1%, while Germany remained flat at 0.2%.