Passenger car: European registrations drop by 27% in January
Brussels, 13/02/2009 – New passenger car registrations in Europe* declined by 27% in January compared to the same month a year earlier, with all markets contributing negatively to the results.
New passenger car registrations in Europe* declined by 27% in January compared to the same month a year earlier, with all markets contributing negatively to the results. New registrations have now dropped 9 months in a row. In absolute numbers, January 2009 volumes reached 958,500** units, or the lowest level in two decades (see graphs below). Across Europe, the month counted on average 1.4 working days less than January 2008.
In Western Europe, 891,505** new passenger cars were registered, or 26.5% less compared to January last year. Iceland recorded the steepest fall (-88.1%), followed by Ireland (66.5%). With the exception of France (-7.9%), all markets faced a double-digit downturn. Looking at the major markets, Germany (-14.2%) fared the best after France, while the UK (-30.9%), Italy (-32.6%) and Spain (-41.6%) began 2009 with more important losses.
In the new EU Member States, demand for new passenger cars contracted by 34.0%. The Polish market registered the most new cars and recorded the smallest drop (-5.3%). All other markets declined strongly, including the larger markets such as Romania (-53.2%), Hungary (-52.3%) and the Czech Republic (-12.3%).
* EU27 + EFTA, data for Cyprus and Malta unavailable
** Figures updated on February 13, 9:40 am
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About ACEA
- The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) represents the 14 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
- Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.twitter.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/.
- Contact: Francesca Piazza, Senior Statistics Manager, fp@acea.auto.
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About the EU automobile industry
- 13.0 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
- 11.5% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
- €374.6 billion in tax revenue for European governments
- €101.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
- Over 7% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
- €59.1 billion in R&D spending annually, 31% of EU total
