Passenger car: 2009 registrations down 1.6% compared to 2008

Brussels, 15/01/2010 – Following a marked decline in the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, European* new car registrations picked up in the second half of last year, largely due to the impact of fleet renewal schemes in a number of major markets. In total, 14,481,545 new cars were registered in 2009; 1.6% less than in 2008 and 9.5% less than in 2007. In December 2009, demand for new cars rose by 16.0%, amounting to 1,074,438 units compared to the same month in 2008.

In Western Europe, new car registrations were up 19.3% in December, reaching 1,003,757 units. Markets in Switzerland (-4.4%), Germany (-4.6%), Finland (-8.1%) and Portugal (-17.9%) declined compared to last year, while registrations increased by 16.7% in Italy, 25.1% in Spain, 38.9 in the UK and 48.6% in France. The West European market ended the whole year 2009 on levels similar to 2008 (+0.5%) and down 7.9% compared to 2007. In 2009, only Austria (+8.8%), France (+10.7%) and Germany (+23.2%) posted growth compared to 2008, with results lifted by scrapping incentives. Results were cushioned for similar reasons in Italy (-0.2%), the UK (-6.4%) and Spain (-17.9%). In total, 13,632,918 new cars were registered in the region.

In the new EU Member States, December results were positive for only the Czech Republic (+43.8%) and Slovenia (+12.4%). Elsewhere, the downturn prevailed, ranging from -3.9% in Poland to -79.3% in Latvia and resulting in an overall 16.5% decrease in the region. From January to December, only the Czech Republic (+12.5%) and Slovakia (+6.7%) recorded a significant increase. The region as a whole faced a 26.6% downturn with 848,627 new cars registered, compared to 1,156,169 units in 2008.