Growth returns to European car market after 2-month slump

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The European passenger car market bounced back in October, marking a return to growth after two months of decline, with Spain and Germany driving the recovery, an industry group report showed on Thursday.

New passenger car registrations in the EU rose 1.1% year-on-year to 866,397 units in October, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said.

Spain led the recovery with a strong 7.2% hike, while Germany posted a 6% increase, rebounding strongly after three months of contraction.

However, the picture was not uniform across the four major EU markets. Both France and Italy recorded significant declines, with drops of 11.1% and 9.1%, respectively, highlighting the ongoing challenges in some markets.

The battery-electric car market share for October was stable at 14.4%, with registrations reaching 124,907 units, up 2.4% from last year.

In January-October, new car registrations in the 27-member bloc increased slightly by 0.7%, reaching 8.9 million units.

Spain and Italy saw modest growth, with rises of 4.9% and 0.9%, respectively, while France and Germany posted declines of 2.7% and 0.4%, respectively.