Brussels, 17 October 2018 – In September 2018, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union fell by 23.5%.
In September 2018, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union fell by 23.5%. However, this should not come as a surprise, 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.
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%).
