April car registrations down across Europe

New car registration figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that a total of 1,191,034 units were registered in the EU in April 2017, 6.6 per cent less than the year before. Most major markets saw a decrease: the UK’s market dropped by 19.8 per cent, followed by Germany (-8.0 per cent), France (-6.0 per cent), and Italy (-4.6 per cent). Among the largest markets only Spain grew by 1.1 per cent.

Commenting on the news, Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), said: “With Easter falling during the month and following record performances in the first quarter of the year, the decline of -6.6 per cent in EU passenger car registrations seen in April was expected.”

Figures remain positive in the first four months of the year with overall demand up 4.7 per cent on last year, with a total of 5,332,854 units registered. From January to April, Italy (+8.0 per cent) and Spain (+6.1 per cent) saw the strongest increases, followed by Germany (+2.5 per cent), France (+2.0 per cent) and the UK (+1.1 per cent).

Robinson continued, “Positively, year to date demand for new cars in Europe remains higher than last year in line with UK’s results. After a very strong 2016, we expect markets to continue to stabilise over the coming months.