In September 2018, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union fell by 23.5%, official figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) showed.
However, this should not come as a surprise, ACEA says, as the introduction of the new WLTP test at the beginning of last month caused an exceptional surge in registrations in August (+31.2%). As a result, most EU countries suffered double-digit losses in September, including the five major markets. NFDA anticipated this when UK new passenger car registration figures were released (https://www.nfda-uk.co.uk/press-room/press-releases/septembers-new-car-market-distorted-by-wltp).
Over the first nine months of 2018, EU demand for passenger cars remained positive (+2.5%), in line with growth expectations for this year. Looking at the five biggest markets, demand went up in Spain (+11.7%), France (+6.5%) and Germany (+2.4%), while car sales contracted in Italy (-2.8%) and in the United Kingdom (-7.5%).
