EU wide passenger car registrations reached 1,166,482 in April, the highest figure for the month since 2009, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
This also marked the twentieth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in the market, as this figure was 6.9% above the amount of registrations recorded in April 2014.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
All but five countries in the region saw an increase in car sales. This included all of the big five markets, of which Italy and Germany led the way, with year-on-year growth of 24.2% and 6.3%, respectively.
The UK car market grew by 5.1% year-on-year in April, while the French and Spanish markets grew by 2.3% and 3.2% over the same period, respectively.
Greece saw the largest year-on-year growth by percentage in April, up 43.3%, however, this was from a very small base. In actual volume this represented an increase from 5,444 to 7,801.
Brands
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataRenault Group saw the largest increase in market share between April 2014 and 2015, increasing from 9.9% of the market in April 2014, to 10.6% in April 2015. This was as a result of strong growth from both Renault and Dacia, which saw sales increase by 15% and 14.5% year-on-year respectively.
This market share growth came largely at the expense of PSA Group, which saw its market share dip from 11.3% in April 2014 to 10.8% in April 2015, on the back of anaemic growth by Citroen, and falling sales for DS over the period.
As a result PSA Group sold 125,617 cars in April 2015, just 1,422 cars more than the Renault Group.
VW Group continued to be the largest car group in Europe, with a market share of 26.1% in April, after sales increased 5.6% year-on-year to 304,705.
