New registrations in Europe (EU-15 + EFTA) for January 2004 reported by ACEA totalled 1,173,273 units, representing a year-on-year drop of 1.6 % (and of -1.6 % in the EU-15).

While Germany (-12.4 %) and France (-11.9 %) posted market falls, two major markets besides the UK showed growth: Spain (+9.2 %), and Italy (+5.6 %).

Four other EU 15 markets posted falls in new car sales, ranging from –3.9 % in Portugal to –16.4 % in Sweden, while the remaining six other countries reported market growth, ranging from +30.9 % in Finland to +0.8 % in Ireland.

The ACEA now reports market data from the Central and Eastern Europe countries that will join the EU in May. Overall passenger car registrations in the eight main markets among future EU Member States grew by 3.5 %. The two largest Central European markets, Poland and Hungary, both posted an increase of 5 %, while the Czech Republic saw a decrease of 9.8 %.