Data released by European vehicle manufacturers' trade association Acea shows that sales of cars in the EU area were up by 9.6% in the first four months of the year versus the same period of last year.
In April 2018, the EU passenger car market showed a strong return to growth (+9.6%) after demand declined in March – 1,306,273 new cars were registered last month. All five major EU markets saw substantial increases: Spain (+12.3%) and the United Kingdom (+10.4%) recorded the strongest growth, followed by France (+9.0%), Germany (+8.0%) and Italy (+6.5%).
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From January to April 2018, demand for new cars in the European Union increased by 2.7%, driven by last month's robust growth. Car registrations went up in Spain (+11.0%), Germany (+5.0%) and France (+4.4%), but demand for new cars contracted in the UK (-8.8%). The new EU member states performed very well so far in 2018, with registrations increasing by 12.5%. Overall, 5,478,442 new passenger cars were registered in the EU during the first four months of the year.
Manufacturer detail shows that market leader Volkswagen Group's share of the EU car market was up in April, to 25.7%. There were strong gains for the group's SEAT and Skoda brands, but sales were also up by almost 14% at the Volkswagen brand. There were also strong gains at Toyota (+21.2%), Hyundai (+16%) and Ford (+14%).
See also: West European car market up 9% in April
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