Brussels, 22/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), new car registrations in Europe fell by 1.6% in 2009 compared with the previous year, despite the pick up in demand observed in the second half of the year. In December, the number of new car registrations was up 16% on December 2008, and stood at 1,074,438 units across the ACEA countries. In Western Europe, the increase was 19.3% in December, compared with the same period in 2008, despite decline in the markets in Switzerland (-4.4%), Germany (-4.6%), Finland (-8.1%) and Portugal (-17.9%). Spain, the UK and France, on the other hand, saw substantial increases in December of 25.1%, 38.9% and 48.6% respectively. The measures taken by some states to reinvigorate the car industry bore their fruits, cushioning results for the whole of the year. However, in 2009, only Austria (+8.8%), France (+10.7%) and Germany (+23.2%) posted growth compared with 2008. The situation in the new member states was, according to ACEA, completely different, with an overall 16.5% decrease in the region. The total number of new cars registered reached only 848,627, compared with 1.1 million in 2008. Among the “new countries” (those which joined the EU in May 2004, with the exceptions of Cyprus and Malta, but also including Bulgaria and Romania), only the Czech Republic (+12.5%) and Slovakia (+6.7%) recorded significant increases between January and December 2009. In all, across the EU as a whole, ACEA reports 14,481,545 new cars registered, 1.3% fewer than in 2008. (A.By./transl.rt)