New passenger car registrations in Europe* declined by 27% in January compared to the same month a year earlier, with all markets contributing negatively to the results. New registrations have now dropped 9 months in a row. In absolute numbers, January 2009 volumes reached 958,500** units, or the lowest level in two decades, cross Europe, the month counted on average 1.4 working days less than January 2008.

The data was published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

In Western Europe, 891,505** new passenger cars were registered, or 26.5% less compared to January last year. Iceland recorded the steepest fall (-88.1%), followed by Ireland (66.5%). With the exception of France (-7.9%), all markets faced a double-digit downturn. Looking at the major markets, Germany (-14.2%) fared the best after France, while the UK (-30.9%), Italy (-32.6%) and Spain (-41.6%) began 2009 with more important losses.

In the new EU Member States, demand for new passenger cars contracted by 34.0%. The Polish market registered the most new cars and recorded the smallest drop (-5.3%). All other markets declined strongly, including the larger markets such as Romania (-53.2%), Hungary (-52.3%) and the Czech Republic (-12.3%).

* EU27 + EFTA, data for Cyprus and Malta unavailable
** Figures updated on February 13, 9:40 am

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