Signs of life but still in the critical care phase.
The EU is showing faint signs of a pulse as sales of new passenger cars increased for the third consecutive month at 938,021 new registrations or +1.2% year-on-year.
In absolute numbers, this represents the third lowest level recorded for a month of November since ACEA, the automakers trade group, recorded new registrations in the EU27 in 2003.
Basically, six years of stagnation.
From January to November, 10,945,360 new cars were registered, or -2.7% less than in the first eleven months of 2012, as the contractionist policies of the frail confederation continue to wreak widespread economic harm.
During November, the UK (+7.0%) and Spanish (+15.1%) markets contributed to the overall 1.2% upturn. Demand in Germany (-2.0%), France (-4.0%) and Italy (-4.5%) was lower than in the same month last year.
From January to November, most significant markets shrank, leading to a -2.7% decline in the EU. The downturn ranged from -4.9% in Germany to -7.1% in France and -7.7% in Italy. Spain (+2.1%) and the UK (+9.9%) were the only ones to perform better than in the first eleven months of last year.
