In April 2014, demand for new passenger cars in the EU increased for the eighth consecutive month, with a rise of 4.6% in registrations, to 1.09 million units, according to data released Friday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Another 4 countries of the 28 E member states also registered car registration drops in April. Sales in the Netherlands fell 6.3%, in Romania, 5.9%, Finland saw a 5.6% car registration decline, Austria’s car sales dropped 5.1%, while in Germany, new car sales fell 3.6%.
In March, the Romanian auto market registered the third growth in EU, of 37.7%, to nearly 4,600 cars.
In April 2014, Germany was the only major EU market to face a downturn (-3.6%). All other significant markets contributed positively to the overall 4.6% expansion of the EU market, with growth ranging from +1.9% in Italy, +5.8% in France, +8.2% in the UK to +28.7% in Spain, ACEA data show.
In the first four months of the year, Romania’s auto market rose 10.9% to 18,277 units, slightly above EU growth rate of 7.4%, at 4.34 million units.
In April, Dacia had again the biggest growth in the EU, of 34.6%.
French group Renault, Dacia’s owner and the third largest European carmaker, posted a growth of 16.1%, to 107,651 cars.
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, sold 287,962 cars in the EU in April, posting a growth of 4.4%, while PSA Peugeot Citroen sales increased 5.2% in April, to 122,265 cars.
Dacia’s EU registrations in January-April also reported the biggest growth, at 40.4%, to 123,954 units.