2017 (Q1) Europe: Car Sales Per European Union and EFTA Country

New passenger vehicle registrations in the EU and EFTA countries increased by 8.2% to 4,256,202 cars during the first quarter of 2017.

Bugatti Chiron

Car sales during the first three months of 2017 were strong in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries with sales up in all but two countries. Germany and the United Kingdom remained the two largest single-country car markets in Europe despite both underperforming the broader market. Only Ireland and Finland had weaker sales while Greece (+38%) was the strongest performer.

The European New Car Market in 2017 (Q1)

New passenger vehicle registrations in the EU and EFTA countries increased by 8.2% to 4,256,202 cars. In the EU, car sales increased by 8.4% to 4,141,269 cars.

March 2017 was the strongest single month for car sales in the EU ever. The month, and first quarter of 2017, was helped by Easter falling in April in 2017 while it was in March in 2016. The Easter vacations may thus put a damper on sales in April.

Car Sales Per European Country in 2017 (Q1)

New passenger vehicle registrations in the EU and EFTA during the first quarter of 2017 were as follows according to the ACEA:

Q1/2017 Q1/2016 % Change
EU + EFTA 4,256,202 3,932,911 +8.2
AUSTRIA 88,493 78,455 +12.8
BELGIUM 164,709 150,456 +9.5
BULGARIA 6,607 5,399 +22.4
CROATIA 10,784 8,792 +22.7
CYPRUS 3,640 3,268 +11.4
CZECH REPUBLIC 68,059 59,598 +14.2
DENMARK 59,921 52,214 +14.8
ESTONIA 5,869 5,428 +8.1
FINLAND 33,113 33,114 -0.003
FRANCE 541,054 516,382 +4.8
GERMANY 844,684 791,424 +6.7
GREECE 21,097 15,326 +37.7
HUNGARY 24,346 19,699 +23.6
IRELAND 75,939 82,824 -8.3
ITALY 582,465 520,362 +11.9
LATVIA 4,064 3,884 +4.6
LITHUANIA 5,524 4,602 +20.0
LUXEMBOURG 13,341 12,965 +2.9
NETHERLANDS 120,654 98,265 +22.8
POLAND 125,932 104,688 +20.3
PORTUGAL 59,863 58,428 +2.5
ROMANIA 22,276 17,471 +27.5
SLOVAKIA 22,814 20,023 +13.9
SLOVENIA 18,690 16,691 +12.0
SPAIN 307,911 285,494 +7.9
SWEDEN 89,404 83,229 +7.4
UNITED KINGDOM 820,016 771,780 +6.2
EUROPEAN UNION 4,141,269 3,820,261 +8.4
ICELAND 3,923 3,605 +8.8
NORWAY 38,241 37,088 +3.1
SWITZERLAND 72,769 71,957 +1.1
EFTA 114,933 112,650 +2.0

Note: all figures exclude Malta.

Europe’s Largest Car Markets in 2017 (Q1)

There were no changes in the rank order of the top nine county markets in Europe during the first quarter of 2017. Of the top five markets (Germany, UK, Italy, France and Spain), only Italy outperformed the broader market and in the process increase its lead over fourth placed France from 4,000 to over 40,000 cars.

Car sales in Belgium were up by almost 10% but the star performers were Poland and The Netherland where sales were up by more than a fifth. Sweden maintained its ninth place while Austria replaced Ireland as the tenth largest country market for new cars in Europe during the first quarter of 2017.

Ireland slipped to eleventh with sales down by 8%. The only other European Union country with lower sales during the first quarter of 2017 was Finland – sales were down 0,0003%, or one car.

The two most improved markets were Greece (+38% at 21st place) and Romania (+27.5% at 20th place).

Volkswagen remained the largest carmaker and car brand in Europe during the first quarter of 2017 despite loosing market share – see 2017 (Q1) Europe: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands.