A new growth for european car registrations in January: but VW falls

In January 2016, the EU passenger car market started the year positively, marking the 29th consecutive month of growth.
Registrations during the month grew (+6.2%) compared to January 2015, totalling 1,061,150 units. This result is encouraging for the near future, as the upward market trend remains stable.

Among the major markets, Italy (+17.4%) and Spain (+12.1%) recorded the strongest performances in January, both posting double-digit percentage gains.  
Also the French (+3.9%), German (+3.3%) and UK (+2.9%) passenger car markets grew during the opening month of 2016, although at more modest rates. 

Good numbers for the most important brands except for Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen that saw registrations of VW-branded cars fall 4 percent in the wake of a diesel emissions scandal.

VW's rivals Ford and Opel/Vauxhall meanwhile posted registration gains of 11.4 percent and 12.4 percent respectively, according to car registration data for European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.

The Volkswagen Group as a whole saw sales rise 1 percent in January, buoyed by a 14 percent jump in registrations of its premium Audi division, according to the figures published by European auto industry association ACEA.