BRUSSELS—The European Union passenger car market registered the first increase of the year in September, with registrations up 3.1 percent compared to 2019, according to the latest data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
New car sales reached 933,987 across the EU in September, with some of the major markets posting strong growth.
The four largest markets posted mixed results, with Spain and France registering 13.5 percent and 3 percent declines, respectively. Italy and Germany, on the other hand, saw sales increase 9.5 percent and 8.4 percent during the month.
Car demand contracted by 28.8 percent in the EU for the first nine months of 2020.
Seven million units were registered from January to September, almost 2.9 million fewer than the 2019 figure.
Despite positive results in September, the impact of COVID-19 still weighs heavily on the cumulative performance of the EU car market, according to ACEA.
Among the major markets, Spain has so far seen the steepest drop at 38.3 percent, followed by Italy at 34.2 percent, France at 28.9 percent and Germany 25.5 percent.
