EU: Passenger car demand down 2.6% in Jan-April

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - The demand for passenger cars in the EU fell 2.6% year-on-year in the January-April period, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reported on Friday.

The association said new passenger car registrations across the 28-member bloc totaled nearly 5.3 million in the first four months of 2019.

"The German and French markets remained almost flat four months into the year," the ACEA said.

"While registrations declined in Italy (down 4.6%), Spain (down 4.5%) and the U.K. (down 2.7%) when compared with the same period in 2018."

Manufacturing the Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche brands, the VW Group holds a 24.0% market share with 1.28 million cars over the same period.

The PSA Group, including major brands Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel, and the Renault Group had market shares of 16.8% and 10.4% , respectively.

Last year, over 15 million new passenger cars were registered in the EU.

The EU is the main automotive export market for Turkey, where top international automakers -- including Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, Renault, and Toyota -- are operating.

Turkey's auto exports to European countries totaled over $25 billion, making up 79.5% of Turkey's total automotive exports in 2018.