Registrations of new passenger cars increased 4.5% in the EU during May, the ninth consecutive month of improvements year-over-year. While seemingly good news, the 1,093,448 units registered was the second lowest result to date for a month of May since ACEA – the automaker’s trade group – began tracking numbers in 2003 with the enlarged EU.
During May 2014, Italy was the only major market to face a downturn (-3.8). All other major markets contributed to the overall 4.5% expansion of the EU market, with growth ranging from +0.3% in France, +5.2% in Germany, +7.7% in the UK to +16.9% in Spain.
The winners were Volkswagen +9.6%, Peugeot +4.3%, Renault +18.8%, Daimler +3.6%, Toyota +3.4%, Nissan +10.7%, Losers were General Motors -6.8%, Ford -2.%, BMW -2.2%, Fiat -2.7%, Hyundai -2.7%.
Five months into 2014, new passenger car registrations increased by 6.9%, totaling 5,431,921 units. From January to May, all major markets posted growth, contributing to an overall +6.9% upturn. The increase in passenger car registrations during this period ranged from 3% in France, 3.2% in Italy, 3.4% in Germany to 11.6% in the UK and 16.3% in Spain.
