In the first two months of the current year, new car registrations totaled 1,796,787 units in the European Union (EU), with an increase of 6.6 percent year on year, according to the latest figures issued by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). In February this year, EU new car registrations increased by eight percent year on year to 861,058 units, but were down by eight percent compared to January.

In the first two months of this year, Spain (+13.1 percent), the UK (+6.1 percent), Italy (+6.0 percent) and Germany (+5.7 percent) were major markets which recorded increases on year-on-year basis. France was the only significant market where new passenger car registrations declined year on year (-0.5 percent) in the given period.

In February, most EU markets posted year-on-year growth, with Spain up 17.8 percent, Italy up 8.6 percent, with Germany indicating an increase of 4.3 percent and with the UK up three percent, while France saw a decline of 1.4 percent.