The number of new cars sold in the EU in 2015 reached 13,713,526, after a strong December saw over 1,109,927 vehicles sold in the month.

December was the 28th consecutive month of growth, with the 16.6% year-on-year uplift recorded the highest increase since the beginning of this positive trend.

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The 2015 result passed the number of registrations in 2010, immediately after the economic crisis. "In other words, the trend is positive but in absolute terms, volumes remain low," said ACEA.

All major markets witnessed strong growth in new car registrations in 2015 compared to the previous year. Spain and Italy had the strongest growth in demand during the year, with new car sales rising by 20.9% and 15.8% respectively.

In France new car sales grew by 6.8%, in the UK by 6.3% and Germany 5.6%. The highest growth in Europe was recorded in Ireland, were there was a 29.8% boost in registrations.
Only Estonia and Luxembourg saw their new car market shrink.

Manufacturer performance

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Volkswagen remained the most popular brand in the EU, as it sold 1,657,195 cars in 2015, 6.3% more than the previous year.

Ford remained the second largest brand over the period, with 999,234 vehicles sold. Renault outpaced Opel/Vauxhall, as its sales grew by 10.9% to 957,391. Registrations of Opel/Vauxhall cars grew by 6.3% to 925,115.

For the twelve months of the year Peugeot and Audi sold 837,752 and 738,051 vehicles respectively.

The brands which witnessed the highest rates of growth in car sales were Jeep (122.2%) and Smart (71.2%).

The VW Group – which includes Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche – was the manufacturer group that sold the most cars in 2015. 3,377,799 cars from this group were sold in the year, marking a 6.1% year-on-year increase.