European Automobile Manufacturer's Association has announced that in September 2012, new passenger car registrations continued their downward trend, declining for the twelfth consecutive month. Demand for new cars was down 10.8%, amounting to 1,099,264 units, compared with September 2011. Nine months into the year, the downturn reached 7.6%, with a total of 9,368,327 new cars registered in the EU.
In September 2012, the EU recorded a total of 1,099,264 new cars, or 10.8% less than in the same month a year ago. Looking at the major markets, the British was the only one to expand, while Germany (-10.9%), France (-17.9%), Italy (-25.7%) and Spain (-36.8%) all faced a double digit downturn.
In January to September 2012 period, the EU market shrank by 7.6%, compared to the first nine months of 2011. Results were diverse across markets, as the UK posted growth (+4.3%), while Germany saw its demand fall by 1.8% and Spain (-11.0%), France (-13.8%) and Italy (-20.5%) contracted more severely.
| Sep '12 | Sep '11 | YoY | YTD '12 | YTD '11 | YoY | |
| Austria | 27,094 | 30,755 | -11.9 | 266,890 | 273,539 | -2.4 |
| Belgium | 33,660 | 41,427 | -18.7 | 386,733 | 440,546 | -12.2 |
| Bulgaria | 1,347 | 1,718 | -21.6 | 14,252 | 14,354 | -0.7 |
| Cyprus | 702 | 1,003 | -30.0 | 8,892 | 11,026 | -19.4 |
| Czech Republic | 12,475 | 12,978 | -3.9 | 131,059 | 127,485 | +2.8 |
| Denmark | 13,923 | 13,849 | +0.5 | 128,493 | 127,230 | +1.0 |
| Estonia | 1,442 | 1,417 | +1.8 | 13,314 | 11,405 | +16.7 |
| Finland | 7,994 | 10,111 | -20.9 | 88,926 | 100,109 | -11.2 |
| France | 137,536 | 167,526 | -17.9 | 1,431,509 | 1,661,271 | -13.8 |
| Germany | 250,082 | 280,689 | -10.9 | 2,358,798 | 2,401,736 | -1.8 |
| Greece | 3,463 | 6,718 | -48.5 | 45,535 | 79,231 | -42.5 |
| Hungary | 3,521 | 3,500 | +0.6 | 39,317 | 33,815 | +16.3 |
| Ireland | 2,487 | 2,767 | -10.1 | 76,630 | 87,163 | -12.1 |
| Italy | 109,178 | 147,021 | -25.7 | 1,090,627 | 1,371,117 | -20.5 |
| Latvia | 744 | 926 | -19.7 | 7,995 | 7,777 | +2.8 |
| Lithuania | 980 | 1,197 | -18.1 | 9,190 | 9,956 | -7.7 |
| Luxemburg | 3,340 | 3,466 | -3.6 | 39,090 | 39,609 | -1.3 |
| Netherlands | 32,090 | 44,382 | -27.7 | 428,191 | 453,882 | -5.7 |
| Poland | 18,885 | 21,136 | -10.7 | 207,063 | 202,544 | +2.2 |
| Portugal | 6,358 | 9,205 | -30.9 | 74,461 | 123,464 | -39.7 |
| Romania | 4,736 | 6,875 | -31.1 | 49,128 | 55,881 | -12.1 |
| Slovakia | 7,329 | 4,998 | +46.6 | 53,845 | 49,954 | +7.8 |
| Slovenia | 3,203 | 4,523 | -29.2 | 38,707 | 46,378 | -16.5 |
| Spain | 35,146 | 55,572 | -36.8 | 555,362 | 623,921 | -11.0 |
| Sweden | 21,937 | 26,605 | -17.5 | 203,711 | 227,636 | -10.5 |
| UK | 359,612 | 332,476 | +8.2 | 1,620,609 | 1,553,094 | +4.3 |
| EU 27 | 1,099,264 | 1,232,840 | -10.8 | 9,368,327 | 10,134,123 | -7.6 |
| EU15 | 1,043,900 | 1,172,569 | -11.0 | 8,795,565 | 9,563,548 | -8.0 |
| EU 11 | 55,364 | 60,271 | -8.1 | 572,762 | 570,575 | +0.4 |
| Iceland | 470 | 283 | +66.1 | 6,371 | 4,082 | +56.1 |
| Norway | 11,134 | 11,737 | -5.1 | 104,199 | 102,895 | +1.3 |
| Switzerland | 21,166 | 26,479 | -20.1 | 245,526 | 232,738 | +5.5 |
| EFTA | 32,770 | 38,499 | -14.9 | 356,096 | 339,715 | +4.8 |
| EU 27+EFTA | 1,132,034 | 1,271,339 | -11.0 | 9,724,423 | 10,473,838 | -7.2 |
| EU15+EFTA | 1,076,670 | 1,211,068 | -11.1 | 9,151,661 | 9,903,263 | -7.6 |
Source - www.acea.be
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