ACEA

PASSENGER CARS: European registrations drop by 27% in January

Brussels, 15/01/2009 - 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 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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