FRANKFURT (MNI) – Eurozone new car registrations in August were
8.0% higher than a year earlier — a reversal after the decline in July,
the Association of European Automobile Builders (ACEA) reported on
Friday.

Registrations amounted to 693,741 in August, according to data
provided from 15 of the 17 countries in the Eurozone. Data for Cyprus
and Malta were not available. In the first eight months of this year,
8,390,793 new cars were registered, down 1.5% from the previous-year
period.

Across the whole 27-country EU, new car sales rose 7.7% on the year
in August to 753,709.

Registrations of new passenger cars in Germany rose 18% on the year
to 237,700 in August, benefitting from the base effect of weak sales a
year earlier. Domestic brands made up the bulk of car registrations,
data compiled by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
showed. They accounted for registrations of 165,200 cars, 23% more than
a year earlier.

According to the Ifo Institute, the production volume of the German
automative industry is expected to grow by an average of 11-12% this
year. It said a precise forecast for 2012 was difficult due to the euro
crisis.

Last week, VDIK President Volker Langer said the mood among its
members was “still positive despite the slight downturn, with order
books well filled.” Given the propensity of German customers to buy
during the International Auto Show this week, “I expect the positive
trend to continue, if slightly moderating, in the months ahead,” he
said.

Europe’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen, reported brand car
sales in August were 9.5% higher on the year, with six-month results up
12%. Its European brand sales rose 9.1% in the year to end-August, with
gains 9% in Germany and 45% in central and eastern Europe.

By contrast, Ford recently announced it was cutting production at
its factory in Saarlouis, Germany, due to a drop in demand in debt-laden
southern Europe. southern Europe.

In France, registrations of new cars in France rose 3.2% in August
compared with the same month of 2010 after declines of 5.7% in July and
13% in June, according to the sector group CCFA. The resilience of sales
has reassured producers. Renault revised up this week its forecast for
the full-year to -4% from -6%.

Spanish car sales were up 5.9% on the year to 47,224, the first
rise in 13 months, according to the carmakers association ANFAC. The
annual gain was due largely to low sales a year earlier, it
acknowledged, noting that this August and last August were the only
months in 20 years to register sales of less than 50,000 units.
January-August sales were 22.2% lower on the year.

Italian new car sales rose 1.5% on the year in August to 70,307.

–Frankfurt Bureau, +49 69 720 142; email: frankfurt@marketnews.com–

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