Passenger car registrations in the EU reached 1,356,868 in September, up 9.8% year-on-year, according to figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

All major markets posted growth compared to September 2014. Registrations in Spain and Italy witnessed double digit growth of 22.5% and 17.2% respectively. UK new passenger car registrations rose by 8.6% year-on-year, while in Germany they were up by 4.8%. French registrations were up 9.1% over the same period.

Year-to-date new passenger car registrations increased by 8.8% compared to the same period in 2014, to exceed 10m units (10,413,675). All major market posted growth, contributing to the overall upturn of the EU market over the period. Out of the EU members only Austria, Estonia, Finland and Luxemburg recorded a year-on-year decrease in units sold.

Manufacturer performance

Volkswagen remained the most popular brand in the EU, as it sold 1,262,346 cars in the first nine months of 2015, 7.5% more than the same period in the previous year.

Ford remained the second largest brand over the period, with 768,245 vehicles sold. Opel/Vauxhall saw its sales rise by 6.4% year-on-year to 713,596, while Renault sold 9.2% more vehicles reaching 706,879.

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In the first nine months of the year Peugeot and Audi sold 627,878 and 569,811 vehicles respectively.

The brands which witnessed the highest rates of growth in car sales were Jeep (170.5%) and Smart (72.2%).

The VW Group – which includes Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche – was the manufacturer group that sold the most cars between January and September. 2,590,487 cars from this group were sold in the first nine months of the year, marking a 7.2% year-on-year increase.