The credit crunch continues to bite the automotive industry as demand for new passenger cars slumped by 14.5 per cent in October.
The latest figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association revealed that new car registrations have now decreased for six successive months with a cumulative decline from January to October of 5.4 per cent.
All established EU markets, with the exception of Austria which saw a four per cent increase, suffered contraction. The Irish and Spanish markets in particular continued a sharp downward trend, plummeting 54.6 per cent and 40.6 per cent respectively. In Spain this placed registrations in October at their lowest levels since 1995.
In the UK, demand for new cars fell by 23 per cent with cumulative results from Jan-Oct showing an 8.8 per cent decline. New registrations in Italy fell for the tenth month in succession, this time down by 18.9 per cent; while in Germany new car registrations dropped by 8.2 per cent. France was not immune either as the market there recorded a 7.4 per cent fall.
Registrations of new cars in new EU Member States showed more positive activity with the Polish market expanding by 12.3 per cent. Romania however, remained the second biggest market behind Poland despite a 10.6 per cent fall.
Market leader Volkswagen saw new car registrations drop by 7.6 per cent, while its nearest rival the PSA Group saw falls of 16.3 per cent. Ford, at number three, saw a drop of 11.9 per cent.
