EU car registrations surge
February 16, 2017
Drawing on a very successful year in 2016, the European car market got off to a good start in January as new car sales increased considerably.
Overall new car registrations rose by 10.2 percent to 1.17 million in the EU in the first month of the new year, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) announced on Thursday.
"In January 2017, the EU passenger car market started the year positively, partially due to extra working days during the month," ACEA said in a statement.
VW unfazed
Spain, France, Italy and Germany all posted double-digit growth, and even the British passenger car market grew by another 2.9 percent despite Brexit-related uncertainties.
As if there'd never been any Dieselgate emissions-cheating scandal, German automaker Volkswagen saw combined sales of all of its 12 brands increase by 10.3 percent, securing a market share of 24.1 percent in the European Union.
The European car market already notched up strong growth last year, with new vehicle registrations climbing by 6.8 percent to 14.64 million units.
That is close to the level seen in 2008 when the global economic crisis erupted.
hg/sgb (AFP, dpa)