10:33 am, January 16, 2013
EUROPEAN car registration figures took a dramatic drop in December, according to the ACEA.
A drop of 16.3 per cent was reported for December 2012 across the whole of the EU, with some specific countries having dropped even further. France’s registrations dropped 14.6 per cent, for example, while Germany saw a 16.4 per cent fall.
Italy and Spain meanwhile fell even further: reporting 22.5 per cent and 23 per cent drop respectively. Only the UK remained positive, actually reporting an increase of 3.7 per cent in the month.
Figures for 2012 as a whole were similarly depressing. While the UK’s registration figures rose by 5.3 per cent year-on-year, and Germany faced a slight drop of 2.3 per cent, other EU markets suffered considerably. Spain’s registrations fell 13.4 per cent, France’s by 13.9 per cent, and Italy by 19.9 per cent.
Data for individual manufacturers showed a similarly divided – if ultimately glum – situation. Renault Group, Peugeot-Citroen and GM all lost numbers from their previous year’s figures – down 19.1 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 13.8 per cent respectively. Even the hardy VW Group dropped by a small margin of 1.6 per cent, with its subsidiary Seat’s figures in particular falling by 15.1 per cent.
There were some success stories, though. Jaguar Land Rover’s numbers rose dramatically – the group registering 25.8 per cent more cars than in 2011, driven by a hearty 33 per cent rise for Land Rover’s models. Kia and Hyundai also managed to do well, with the former’s registrations up 14.1 per cent and the latter 9.4 per cent.
