ZAGREB, September 22, 2019 - Demand for new cars in Europe dropped in the first eight months of 2019 as its weakening in the leading Western European markets prevailed over the mild increase in new EU member states, including Croatia, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
Over the first eight months of 2019, new-car demand in the EU went down by 3.2% compared to the same period last year, counting 10.5 million registrations in total.
Demand for new cars decreased in five leading automobile markets, including France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain, while rising 0.9% in the biggest market, Germany.
In old member states, those prior to the 2004 enlargement, demand dropped 3.6%, while in new ones it went up 1.2%.
In Croatia, 47,824 new cars were registered over the first eight months of 2019, up 1.4% on the year.
Broken down by manufacturer, Volkswagen held the largest share in Europe over the first eight months of this year (24.8%), followed by PSA (16.4%) and Renault (10.7%).
During August, the EU passenger car market contracted by 8.4%. This is mainly the result of the high base of comparison, as August 2018 saw exceptional growth (+31.2%) ahead of the introduction of the new WLTP emissions test on 1 September 2018. The top five EU markets all recorded decreases, with the strongest drops in Spain (-30.8%) and France (-14.1%).
In Croatia, 3,403 new cars were registered in August, up 6.7% on the year.
In July 2019, demand for new passenger cars increased by 1.4%, with almost 1.3 million units registered across the EU. Looking at the five big Western European markets, Germany was the only major car market to post positive results (+4.7%). The region-wide increase was largely supported by the Central European countries, where registrations went up 13.4% in July.
In Croatia, 6,205 new cars were registered in July, up 8.5% on the year.
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