Economy, Europe

European demand for passenger cars up 3.4 pct in 2017

Over 15 million new passenger cars were registered in EU last year, says manufacturers' association

Muhammed Ali Gürtaş  | 17.01.2018 - Update : 17.01.2018
European demand for passenger cars up 3.4 pct in 2017

Ankara

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

Demand for passenger cars in the European Union recorded a 3.4 percent annual rise in 2017, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) report on Wednesday.

"Overall in 2017, European demand for cars grew (up 3.4 percent) for the fourth consecutive year, reaching more than 15 million new passenger cars registered for the first time since 2007," ACEA said in the report.

"Among the five big markets, Italy (up 7.9 percent) and Spain (up 7.7 percent) recorded the strongest gains, followed by France (up 4.7 percent) and Germany (up 2.7 percent)," it said.

The association noted that demand for cars in the United Kingdom declined 5.7 percent last year -- falling for the first time in six years.

Among 28 EU members, the highest number of new registrations was recorded in Germany with nearly 3.4 million passenger cars. The country was followed by the U.K. (2.5 million) and France (2.1 million).

VW Group, of which major brands are Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, and Porsche, became the top company in EU sales last year with some 3.5 million passenger cars and increased its annual sales by 2.3 percent.

PSA Group -- including Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel -- and Renault Group followed VW Group with 1.8 million and 1.6 million car sales, respectively.

EU is the main automotive export market for Turkey, where the world’s prominent automotive manufacturers including Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Renault, and Toyota have manufacturing operations.

Last year, nearly 80 percent of Turkey's total automotive exports were made to EU countries amounting to $22 billion, marking a 17 percent rise year-on-year.



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