BRUSSELS—The European Union passenger car market slipped back into negative territory in October, after posting the first increase of the year in September.
Registrations of new cars declined by 7.8 percent to 953,615 units last month, as several European governments reimposed restrictions to battle a second wave of the coronavirus, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said Nov. 18.
With the exception of Ireland and Romania, losses were posted in all EU markets, including the four major ones.
Demand fell markedly in Spain with a 21 percent year-on-year decline, while more moderate decreases were observed in France (9.5 percent), Germany (3.6 percent) and Italy (0.2 percent) compared to the 2019 levels.
Over the first 10 months, new-car registrations fell by 26.8 percent across the region, reflecting the "unprecedented" impact of COVID-19 on car demand, said ACEA.
During the period, new-car registrations fell to 8 million units, down more than 2.9 million units compared to the same period last year.
Within the major EU markets, Spain has seen the steepest drop at 36.8 percent, followed by Italy at 30.9 percent, France at 26.9 percent and Germany at 23.4 percent.
