Sales of new passenger cars in the European Union have skyrocketed in the first four months of this year. In total, 3.4 million new passenger cars were registered, almost a quarter more than in the same months a year ago.
Of the four largest European markets, Italy and France recorded the strongest sales between January and April. In Italy the number of registrations increased by 68.4 percent, in France it more than doubled. The months of March and April saw a substantial increase.
The month of April in particular stands out. Compared to last year, many more new passenger cars were registered in that month. Italy, Spain, France and Germany were at the top. According to the ACEA, this is because in April 2020 more than three-quarters fewer new passenger cars were registered as a result of corona-restricting measures. At the time, there was much less travel and car factories delivered fewer cars because less was produced due to forced closures. Despite the significant increase last month, almost 300,000 fewer cars were registered compared to April 2019.
The Netherlands is lagging behind
The Netherlands was the third fastest of all EU countries in the past quarter. In the Netherlands, the number of newly registered cars decreased in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago, by almost 12 percent to 104,497. Romania was at the top of the fallers with almost 15 percent, reports the European automotive industry organization ACEA. However, the Netherlands also saw a significant increase in April compared to that month last year. The number of newly registered cars more than doubled, by almost 56 percent. While 15,322 cars were still registered in April 2020, that number had increased to 23,846 last month.