NEW car sales across the whole of Europe during the first half of the year show a slight increase of 1.3% compared to the same period last year.

Figures produced by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show an increase in sales of 1.4% for the EU-15.

In the main markets, eight countries posted increases while the remainder reported losses, ranging from -0.5% in Greece to -6.1% in Portugal.

Country Jan-June 06 Jan-Jun 05 Variance
Austria 169,346 171,211 -1.1%
Belgium 325,611 286,397 +13.7%
Denmark 81,642 74,638 +9.4%
Finland 86,299 86,286 +0.0%
France 1,109,229 1,127,743 -1.6%
Germany 1,735,894 1,712,099 +1.4%
Greece 152,684 153,449 -0.5%
Ireland 144,933 136,930 +5.8%
Italy 1,324,369 1,227,813 +7.9%
Luxembourg 30,468 28,671 +6.3%
Netherlands 286,776 273,868 +4.7%
Portugal 109,657 116,737 -6.1%
Spain 799,914 809,729 -1.2%
Sweden 144,212 137,166 +5.1%
UK 1,241,925 1,296,485 -4.2%
European Union 7,742,959 7,639,222 +1.4%
Iceland 10,986 9,686 +13.4%
Norway 52,925 54,875 -3.6%
Switzerland 141,711 140,009 +1.2%
EFTA 205,622 204,570 +0.5%
EU15+EFTA 7,948,581 7,843,792 +1.3%
Czech Republic 62,509 67,110 -6.9%
Estonia 12,145 10,205 +19.0%
Hungary 99,058 94,666 +4.6%
Latvia 11,346 7,257 +56.3%
Lithuania 6,584 5,309 +24.0%
Poland 119,798 129,414 -7.4%
Slovakia 29,692 27,958 +6.2%
Slovenia 33,320 33,568 -0.7%
EU new members 374,452 375,487 -0.3%
European Union 8,117,411 8,014,709 +1.3%
Total Europe (EU and EFTA) 8,323,033 8,219,279 +1.3%