European passenger car registrations dip 9%

End of government's incentive schemes in several countries coupled with tough economic environment led to a drop in new passenger car registrations in the EU for the second straight month in May, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said. Passenger car registrations in Europe fell 9.3% in May to 1,129,508 vehicles. That followed a 7.4% decline in April that ended 10 consecutive months of increases. In the first five months of the year, 1.9% more new vehicles were registered. The cumulative total for the period amounted to 5,943,096. While Germany registered the most cars, it also recorded the biggest decrease of 35.1% in registrations of all major markets. It was followed by Italy, where registrations fell 13.8% and France with an 11.5% drop. However, sales rose 13.5% in the UK and surged 44.6% in Spain compared to the low levels of last year. Slovakia saw its market shrink the most by a 41.8% decline, while Ireland expanded the most, by 70.6%. Registrations for Volkswagen fell 8.2%, while the same for Peugeot declined 5.3%. Fiat registrations dropped 22.7%, Ford registrations were down 13.2%. GM Group registrations declined 19.4% and Toyota registrations fell 23.1% in the month.