EU new car sales drop 19% in February

Brussels - New passenger car registrations in the European Union dropped by 19.3% during the month of February, as Covid containment measures and uncertainty continued to weigh heavily on demand.

With 771,486 units registered across the EU region, the figure marked the lowest February total on record since 2013, said the European Automobile Manufacturing Association (ACEA) 17 March. 

All four major EU markets recorded losses during the month, with Italy posting the smallest drop at 12.3%. Germany, France and Spain registered declines of 19.0%, 20.9% and 38.4% respectively.

Over the first two months of the year, new car registrations fell 21.7% year-on-year, according to ACEA.

Spain has been hit the hardest with sales falling 44.6% compared to last year, followed by Germany, France and Italy, which posted drops of 25.1% 14.2% and 13.1% respectively.