ACEA shows 2012 car registrations 8.2% down

ACEA – the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association – has revealed 2012 new car registrations declined by 8.2 per cent in the EU (excluding Malta), continuing the downward trend commenced fifteen months ago. Worse still was the 16.3 per cent reduction in December registrations versus December 2011 – the steepest decline recorded in December since 2008, though this decline can partially be blamed on having on average two fewer working days in the region than in the same month in 2011. The UK was the only major market to post growth in the month, which was also reflected across the whole year.

Over the whole year, demand for new cars reached the lowest level recorded since 1995, totalling 12,053,904 units. The resulting 8.2 per cent contraction of the EU market (year-on-year) is the most important experienced since the 16.9 per cent downturn in 1993.

In December, most of the major markets recorded a double-digit downturn ranging from -14.6 per cent in France to -16.4 in Germany, -22.5 in Italy and -23.0 in Spain. The UK was the only significant market to post growth (+3.7 per cent). Overall, a total of 799,407 new cars were registered in the EU*.

Results were diverse across markets for the full year. While the UK expanded (+5.3 per cent) and the German somewhat contained the decline (-2.9), Spain (-13.4), France (-13.9) and Italy (-19.9) faced a more severe downturn, leading to an 8.2 per cent contraction of the EU market.