Passenger car registrations: +6.8% in 2016; +3.0% in December

In December 2016, the EU passenger car market posted growth (+3.0%), amounting to 1,143,653 units sold. In volume terms, this result marked the highest December total on record. Looking at the five major EU markets, Italy (+13.1%) and Spain (+9.3%) posted the highest gains last month, followed by France (+5.8%) and Germany (+3.7%), which also performed better than in December 2015. Demand for new cars in the UK (-1.1%) dropped slightly.

In 2016, new passenger car registrations showed a consistent increase (+6.8%), totalling 14,641,356 units and marking the third consecutive year of growth in the sector. This positive trend is a sign that despite political instability and economic uncertainty following key events in 2016, such as Brexit or the Italian referendum, consumer confidence has remained robust. The growth recorded throughout the year was largely sustained across the whole region and in all major passenger car markets. Italy (+15.8%) and Spain (+10.9%) had the strongest growth in demand during the year, followed by France (+5.1%), Germany (+4.5%) and the UK (+2.3%).