In February, new passenger car registrations in Europe (EU27+EFTA) were 8.7 pct higher than in the same period in 2007, helped by one extra working day in the whole region. In total, 1,180,842 new cars were registered over the month. Western Europe accounted for a sound 7.7 pct increase and registrations in the new Member States remained on a growth path with a plus of 20.5%.

In Western Europe, the German market recorded the largest growth (+24.8 pct) and also the most cars registered (228,623) in absolute terms. The Spanish market roughly equalled last year’s February results (+0.7 pct). The other main Western European markets noted a drop in registrations, with Italy ending the month at –3.9 pct and the United Kingdom at –5.4 pct. Overall, a quarter of the Western European markets saw their registrations decrease. The cumulative January-February figures were 2.7 pct higher in Western Europe and 3.8 pct in the EU27 as compared with the same period last year.

February also saw positive results in the new Member States. Apart from Latvia, all countries posted an increase. The major markets remain Poland (+28.1 pct), Romania (+37.1 pct), Hungary (+7.1 pct) and the Czech Republic (+15.8 pct). Poland and Romania registered the most cars in absolute terms, with 28,182 and 21,423, respectively. Two months into the year, cumulative figures showed a solid 18.6 pct increase.

Fiat Group saw its registrations (EU27 + EFTA) climbing 2.3 pct year-on-year last month to 104,632 vehicles, led out by a strong performance for the Fiat brand which turned in a 12.5 pct year-on-year rise boosted by growing demand for the new Fiat 500. Group overall market share slipped slightly year-on-year, from 9.4 to 8.9 pct. Splitting up the FGA portfolio, the Fiat brand (including Fiat Professional and Abarth) saw 87,137 registrations (+12.5 pct), while Lancia 10,869 (-9.8 pct) and Alfa Romeo 6,135 (-50.7 pct) where both well down, the latter suffering from the temporary closure of its main factory for upgrading work. This all equated to a 7.4 pct share of the overall European market for the Fiat brand (up from 7.1 pct in February 2007) while Lancia is on 0.9 pct and Alfa Romeo 0.5 pct.

For the year-to-date Fiat Group has amassed 216,926 registrations, up 0.8 pct year-on-year, its market share sliding very slightly from 9.0 to 8.7 pct. The Fiat brand has 179,586 registration YTD (+9.5 pct) while Lancia is on 21,854 (-8.3 pct) and Alfa Romeo is on 14,267 (-46.1 pct). For YTD Fiat's European market share is 7.2 pct (up from 6.8 pct for the same period last year) while Lancia slips from 1.0 to 0.9 pct and Alfa Romeo from 1.1 to 0.6 pct.