Global market in new passenger cars grows in 2014. New car registrations continue to increase throughout the world in 2014, according to the most recent report from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Growth was around +4.6% and driven by substantial growth in registrations in China (+12.1%). The Chinese market now accounts for more than a quarter of global sales. With regard to other emerging markets, South Korea and India also experienced growth with increases of +11.1% and +3.7% respectively. The three mature major markets (Europe, US and Japan) also experienced substantial growth: +5.7% for Europe, +5.5% for the US and +3.7% for Japan. Further details: Europe: 16.3 million new cars were registered last year, a 1.3% on the number of registrations in 2013. Europe now accounts for 22.7% of the global market in new passenger cars. Substantial growth was particularly noticeable in the European Union (+5.7%), after seven years of decline and subsequently contributes to the positive overall result in Europe as a whole. EU member states registered a total of 12.5 million new cars. On some of the major markets: Spain experienced the biggest increase with +18.4%, followed by the United Kingdom (+9.3%), Italy (+4.2%) and Germany (+2.9%). France remains stable at +0.3%. Japan: this country is continuing to experience growth, after a fall in 2011, owing to the tsunami and Fukushima disasters. The Japanese market registered 13.8 million new cars in 2014, which accounts for 19.3% of the global market share. US: with 13.8 million new registrations last year, the US market now accounts for 19.3% of total sales. China: following a temporary slowdown, growth was strong again last year (+12.1%), making China the leading automobiles market in the world. Around 18 million new cars were registered last year in China, which accounts for 25.3% of the world market. (Isabelle Lamberty)