European car market shrank 1.9% in November

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The European passenger car market narrowed 1.9% year-on-year in November, reversing growth seen in the prior month, with France leading the decline, an industry group report said Thursday.

New passenger car registrations in the EU last month totaled 869,816 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said.

France saw the steepest drop at 12.7%, followed by Italy with a 10.8% decline, while Germany remained nearly flat, inching down 0.5%. Spain was the only major EU market to show growth, rising 6.4%.

The battery-electric car market share for November fell to 15% from 16.3% last year, while volumes dropped 9.5%.

In January-November, new car registrations in the 27-member bloc rose slightly 0.4%, reaching 8.7 million units.

Spain's car market grew 5.1% in the first 11 months of this year, while France saw a 3.7% drop, and Germany and Italy experienced smaller declines of 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.