Europe New Car Registrations Rise 11.3% In January

(RTTNews) - European passenger car registrations signaled a positive note at the start of the year, rising for the sixth successive month, but at a slower pace than in December amid a slump in the German market, monthly data from the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed on Tuesday.

New car sales in the European Union rose 11.3 percent year-on-year following a 12.8 percent growth in December, the ACEA said.

The number of units sold totaled 760,041 in January versus 682,962 units in the corresponding month last year.

Among the four major markets, Spain logged the strongest growth in sales with 51.4 percent surge from a year ago.

This was followed by Italy with a double-digit expansion of 19.0 percent, and sales in the French car market grew 8.8 percent.

On the other hand, the German market had to undergo a bitter start in the first month of 2023, as new car registrations dropped 2.6 percent compared to the same month last year.

Hybrid and battery electric passenger car registrations continued to grow in the European Union, with 9.5 percent and 26.0 percent of the market, respectively.

In January, sales of new battery electric vehicles rose 22.9 percent in the European Union, and the volume of sales of hybrid electric vehicles advanced 22.1 percent.

Despite this, petrol remained the most popular fuel type for newly registered cars in the EU, with a market share of 37.9 percent, and 12.3 percent uplift in sales in January.

At the same, the diesel car market continued to struggle at the beginning of the year, with sales falling 1.6 percent despite notable growth in Spain and Italy.