New car registrations in the EU dropped to 12.05 million units in 2012, the lowest level since 1995. The decline of more than 8% is the sharpest the European auto market has had since a 17% drop in 1993, according to the European carmakers association ACEA.
The evolution of car markets in the EU-27 was diverse, ACEA noted in a report Wednesday. While the UK grew 5.3% and Germany limited its decline to 2.9%, other countries saw major downfalls: Spain declined 13.4%, France declined 13.9% and Italy by 19.9%.
In December alone, Romania’s decline was also double that of the EU market. New car registrations in Romania dropped 37.5% in December, to 4,828 units, while the EU market declined 16.3%, to 799,407 units.
December marked the 15th consecutive month of decline in new car registrations in Europe and most large EU markets posted declines in double digits.
Registrations in France dropped 14.6% in December, Germany – 16.4%, Italy – 22.5%, and Spain – 23%. The UK was the only major car market to post growth in December, of 3.7%.