Europes new car registrations declined for the second straight month in September due to the fall in sales across France, Germany and Italy, data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, showed Tuesday.
New car sales decreased 6.1 percent in September from a year ago. However, this was much slower than the 18.3 percent fall posted in August. This was the second consecutive decrease.
There were negative results across three of the four major markets in September. Sales in France plunged 11.1 percent and that in Italy decreased 10.7 percent. The German market was down 7.0 percent. By contrast, Spain posted a robust 6.3 percent expansion.
Battery-electric cars that accounted for 17.3 percent of the EU car market showed that sales volume rose 9.8 percent.
Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid car sales declined by a sizeable 22.3 percent with decreases recorded in all major markets. Plug-in-hybrids accounted for 6.8 percent of the car market.
Hybrid-electric registrations advanced 12.5 percent and its market share improved to 32.8 percent. On the other hand, petrol car sales dropped 17.9 percent and the diesel car market contracted 23.5 percent.
During January to September, new car registrations rose only 0.6 percent and almost hit 8 million units, data showed.