New car sales across Europe dropped by 6 percent in January compared to the same period last year, latest statistics show.
According to data posted on the website of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) on Thursday, 682,596 new cars were put on the market in the European Union in January, down from 726,411 in January last year.
It marks the seventh consecutive month in which the car industry has declined, but is an improvement on December when sales were down 22.8 percent on the same period last year.
Sales in Greece were hit hardest, with a year-on-year January decline of 28.9 percent, while sales in Italy and France were down by 19.7 percent and 18.6 percent respectively.
On the contrary, sales rose in Slovakia by 72.6 percent, in Romania by 55.5 percent and in Cyprus by 32 percent. Sales also rose by 8.5 percent in Germany and by 1 percent in Spain.
In January, 8,088 new cars were put on the market in Hungary, 8.8 percent less than the 8,868 in January last year.
According to a recent forecast released by ACEA in early February, 10.5 million new cars will be sold in the European Union this year, up 7.9 per cent from last year.
The top model sold in 2021 across Europe was the Volkswagen Golf with 205,405 new car registrations, closely followed by the Peugeot 208, Dacia Sandero and Renault Clio.
