On January 17, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) announced that European Union (EU) passenger car registrations of 1,143,653 units in December 2016 represented an increase of 3.0% from the same month in 2015 and marked the highest December total on record.
Combined EU (with 27 members) and EFTA country (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland) sales of 1,193,286 units in December represented a 3.2% increase from December 2015.
Examining the five major EU markets, registrations increased 13.1% in Italy, 9.3% in Spain, 5.8% in France and 3.7% in Germany, while demand for new cars dropped 1.1% in the UK.
In 2016, EU passenger car registrations totaling 14,641,356 units represented an increase of 6.8% over 2015 and marked the third consecutive year of growth in the sector.
This positive trend demonstrated that despite political instability and economic uncertainty following Brexit and the Italian referendum, consumer confidence has remained robust.
The growth recorded throughout 2016 was sustained across the whole region and in all major passenger car markets.
For 2016, Italy and Spain, with respective growth rates of 15.8% and 10.9%, had the strongest growth in demand, followed by France at 5.1%, Germany at 4.5%, and the UK at 2.3%.
Combined EU and EFTA sales totaling 15,131,719 units in 2016 represented a 6.5% increase from 2015.

(ACEA press release from January 17, 2017)