The EU’s car market was up 4.6% in April, the eighth successive month of growth, according to data released by ACEA.
However, ACEA also pointed out that in absolute terms, the total of 1,089,226 new car sales marked the third lowest result to date for a month of April since ACEA began the series in 2003.
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Germany was the only major market to face a downturn last month (-3.6%). All other significant markets contributed positively to the overall gain. Growth was strong again in the UK (+8.2%) while Spain’s car market managed an eye-popping 28.7% gain (though Spain’s growth is off a very low base for comparison).
Four months into the year, new passenger car registrations increased by 7.4% in the EU, totalling 4,336,013 units. From January to April, all major markets posted growth. The increase in passenger car registrations in this period ranged from 2.9% in Germany, 3.7% in France, 5.0% in Italy to 12.5% in the UK and 16.2% in Spain.
Analysts point out that the positive trend in the European car market is becoming more established, but that it is a gradual recovery and some markets will take a long time to get near to past peaks.
Jonathon Poskitt, senior analyst at LMC Automotive, emphasised that full recovery remains a few years away. “To take the Spanish market, growth is obviously very welcome and a selling rate of 880,000 units a year is a big step forward, but the Spanish market remains a very long way below where it was pre-financial crisis – around 1.6m units a year – and continues to be supported by the PIVE scheme,” he said.
“The results in France and Italy again headed in the right direction, though the economic outlook remains challenging in both countries and we do not expect a major turnaround in these markets’ fortunes in the near-term.”
Carlos DaSilva of IHS said that “there is still a long way to go before the EU turns into a healthy market for most players, i.e. one allowing for both volumes and profitability”.
