Sales Of New Passenger Cars In The EU Fell Again In October

Sales Of New Passenger Cars In The EU Fell Again In October

Sales of new passenger cars in the European Union (EU) fell again in October after a brief recovery in September. The number of new car registrations in the EU reached 953,615 in October, according to ACEA, the European carmakers' association. That was 7.8 percent less than in October 2019. In September, car sales in the EU rose for the first time this year, rising by 3.1 percent year on year. The reason for the negative October development was the new government restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. With the exception of Romania and Ireland, all EU markets declined. Among the large markets, car sales fell sharply in Spain, where it was 21 percent weaker than a year ago. Sales in France decreased by 9.5 percent year on year, in Germany by 3.6 percent and in Italy by 0.2 percent. The number of registrations of new passenger cars in the first 10 months of 2020 fell by 26.8 percent year on year to 8.01 million. Compared to the same period last year, about 2.9 million fewer cars were sold in the EU from January to October. Sales in Spain fell by 36.8 percent, in Italy by 30.9 percent, in France by 26.9 percent and in Germany by 23.4 percent.