By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) – The European passenger car market returned to growth in August, ending 13 straight months of decline, an industry group said on Friday.
While passenger car registrations in the EU rose 4.4% year-on-year to 650,305 units in August, the figure still remains below pre-pandemic levels, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said in a statement.
All key EU markets positively contributed to the growth, with solid gains seen in Italy (9.9%), Spain (9.1%), France (3.8%) and Germany (3.0%), it added.
In July, the figure was down 10.4% on an annual basis to 738,238, “despite an already low base of comparison caused by the ongoing semiconductor shortage,” the ACEA said.
Despite the upturn in August, previous declines weighed negatively on the cumulative performance.
In the January-August period, new car sales in the EU decreased 11.9% to nearly 6 million.
The four key markets recorded losses in the first eight months of 2022: Italy (minus 18.4%), France (minus 13.8%), Germany (minus 9.8%) and Spain (minus 9.4%).