2014 (Half Year) Europe: Car Sales by EU Country

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Car sales in European Union and EFTA countries grew by 6.5% during the first six months of 2014. Germany remained the largest auto market in Europe.

Volkswagen XL1 at the Geneva Auto Salon 2014

June 2014 saw the tenth month of consecutive growth in car sales in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries. During the first semester of 2014, new passenger vehicle registrations in Europe increased by 6.2% to 6,851,552 cars. Germany remained the largest single-country car market in Europe with the United Kingdom the fastest growing large market in the EU. Only four countries failed to register more new cars during the first six months of 2014 compared to the previous year.

The European Car Market in 2014 (Half Year)

During the first half of 2014, the car market in the European Union and EFTA countries expanded by 6.2% to 6,851,552 new passenger vehicle registrations. Car sales in the EU were up 6.5% to 6,622,996 cars. The European auto market added more than 400,000 cars compared to the first half of 2013.

June 2014 saw the tenth consecutive month of car sales increases in Europe. However, most monthly figures this year have mostly been flattered by the exceptionally weak sales a year ago and are still often the second lowest in over a decade.

Car Sales per European Union and EFTA Country in 2014 (Half Year)

New passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union and EFTA countries during the first half of 2014 according to car sales statistics released by the ACEA were as follows:

First Half 2014First Half 2013% Change
AUSTRIA166’607171’204-2.7
BELGIUM287’203289’873-0.9
BULGARIA10’3328’97115.2
CROATIA20’39615’38432.6
CYPRUS4’3053’67917
CZECH REPUBLIC94’05880’81816.4
DENMARK98’80091’9727.4
ESTONIA10’59010’2823
FINLAND59’13256’5574.6
FRANCE958’752931’4762.9
GERMANY1’538’2681’502’6302.4
GREECE37’46930’36423.4
HUNGARY32’99227’16721.4
IRELAND65’70553’26423.4
ITALY756’818732’3223.3
LATVIA6’3485’26520.6
LITHUANIA7’3856’00722.9
LUXEMBURG27’14526’4092.8
NETHERLANDS199’594210’960-5.4
POLAND175’908147’48719.3
PORTUGAL75’78055’03237.7
ROMANIA31’22524’54927.2
SLOVAKIA35’99232’04412.3
SLOVENIA28’23828’1610.3
SPAIN454’942386’35917.8
SWEDEN151’747128’90017.7
UNITED KINGDOM1’287’2651’163’62310.6
EUROPEAN UNION*6’622’9966’220’7596.5
ICELAND6’2664’80430.4
NORWAY72’38570’6442.5
SWITZERLAND149’905156’305-4.1
EFTA228’556231’753-1.4
EU28*+EFTA6’851’5526’452’5126.2
*Excluding Malta

Source: ACEA

Car Sales by EU and EFTA Countries in 2014 (First Semester)

Germany remained the largest single-country car market in Europe during the first six month of 2014 but growth was well below the market average with several months registering small decreases in new car sales.

In the UK, the second largest market in the EU, sales remain buoyant with June 2014 the 28th consecutive month of car sales growth in Britain. The over 10% growth added more than 120,000 more cars during the first semester of 2014 compared to the first half of 2013. The UK thus accounted for over a quarter of the total increase in car sales in Europe during the first six months of 2014.

In both France and Italy the new car market expanded but well below the EU average. In contrast, sales in Spain were up by nearly 18% – the strongest growth of the top five European car markets.

The strongest growth during the first six months of 2014 was in Portugal, Croatia and Iceland with increases of over 30%. After a couple of dismal years, sales in Greece and Ireland were up nearly a quarter.

Only four countries saw new passenger vehicle registrations decline during the first semester of 2014 compared to the first half of 2013: The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. The Dutch car market continued to contract – during the first half of 2012 and 2011, car sales in The Netherlands were around 330,000 cars.

Volkswagen continued to dominate the car sales statistics in Europe 2014 (First Half): the Volkswagen Group was the top manufacturer, Volkswagen the best-selling car brand and the VW Golf Europe’s favorite car model.

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About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.