BRUSSELS—Passenger car registrations in Europe in the month of August increased by 5.6 percent, totaling 865,047 units.
In terms of volume, the figures topped those of August 2008—marking the European market's best performance in a decade. Among the five big markets, Italy and Spain posted strongest increases with 15.8 percent and 13 percent, respectively. France and Germany had increases of 9.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, demand in the UK declined 6.4 percent.
Over the eight month period since the beginning of 2017, the European Union's new car registration figures rose 4.5 percent. Italy, Spain, France and Germany all reported growth.
The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was the only major market which saw a decline (2.4 percent).