European car market grows 6.7% in November

By Tuba Ongun

The European passenger car market expanded for the 16th consecutive month with 6.7% year-on-year in November, an industry group report revealed on Wednesday.

New passenger car registrations in the EU hit 885,580 units in November, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said.

"Despite a relatively low base of comparison, solid growth persisted, marking the sixteenth consecutive month of expansion," read the statement.

Two of the largest markets saw double-digit percentage gains – Italy (16.2%) and France (14%).

On the other hand, the German car market contracted by 5.7% from a year earlier in November.

In November, EU registrations of new battery-electric cars surged by 16.4% to 144,378 units.

In January-November, new car registrations in the 27-member bloc grew 15.7% from last year, reaching nearly 10 million units.

All markets expanded during Jan.-Nov. period, except for Hungary, the ACEA said.

The four largest markets notably contributed to this trend: Italy (20%), Spain (17.3%), France (16.2%), and Germany (11.4%), read the statement.