Passenger car: EU new car registrations up 8.7% in February

Brussels, 14/03/2008 – In February, new passenger car registrations in Europe (EU27+EFTA) were 8.7% higher than in the same period in 2007, helped by one extra working day in the whole region*. In total, 1,180,842 new cars were registered over the month. Western Europe accounted for a sound 7.7% increase and registrations in the new Member States remained on a growth path with a plus of 20.5%.

In Western Europe, the German market recorded the largest growth (+24.8%) and also the most cars registered (228,623) in absolute terms. The Spanish market roughly equaled last year’s February results (+0.7%). The other main Western European markets noted a drop in registrations, with Italy ending the month at –3.9% and the United Kingdom at –5.4%. Overall, a quarter of the Western European markets saw their registrations decrease.

The cumulative January-February figures were 2.7% higher in Western Europe and 3.8% in the EU27 as compared with the same period last year. February also saw positive results in the new Member States. Apart from Latvia, all countries posted an increase. The major markets remain Poland (+28.1%), Romania (+37.1%), Hungary (+7.1%) and the Czech Republic (+15.8%). Poland and Romania registered the most cars in absolute terms, with 28,182 and 21,423, respectively. Two months into the year, cumulative figures showed a solid 18.6% increase.