ACEA statistics show 15-year low in European market. - European registrations of new passenger cars (EU+EFTA) fell by 7.8% in 2008, compared to figures for the previous year. 14,712,158 cars were registered in 2008 as opposed to 15.7 million in 2007. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) published its new figures last Friday which illustrated the steepest fall since 1993. New car demand dropped by 8.4% in Western-Europe, with the downturn most prominent in the last quarter (-19.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, following three sharp quarterly falls of -1.9% in the first quarter, -2.6% in the second and -9.8% in the third). The worst fall experienced by car manufacturers occurred in November (-25.8%). In Eastern Europe, the fall was less noticeable (-0.7%) but market share here is lower than in Western Europe (14.3 million cars registered in the EU15+EFTA as opposed to just 1.1 million in new member states). In Western Europe, only four countries posted growth: Finland (+11.2%), Portugal (+5.7%), Belgium (+2.1%) and Switzerland (+1.0%). While fiscal measures helped sustain growth in Finland and Portugal, the Belgian and Swiss sales levels seem to have better resisted the financial and economic crises. Iceland (-43.3%) and Ireland (-18.7%) were the two countries recording the most remarkable downturn. Looking at the major markets, Spain recorded in 2008 the steepest fall (-28.1%) in the history of its market. Italy also posted a two-digit decrease (-13.4%). The market in the UK also contracted by 11.3% while registrations decreased to a lesser extent in Germany (-1.8%) and France (-0.7%). In the new EU member states, Poland remained the major market, with a 9.4% increase. The Czech Republic (+8.4%) also recorded a plus, but Romania (-8.7%) and Hungary (-9.2%) contracted. The good general performances registered throughout 2008 contrast with the sharp fall in December (-10.7%), the worst performance for the region since 2004, when ACEA began compiling statistics for these countries. All car manufacturers registered a fall, apart from Nissan (+8.8%), which does not have a strong presence on the European market. Volkswagen is Europe's leader with 3,027 million new passenger car registrations and is managing to keep going, despite a fall of -4.4%. The German group has become number three in the world and has managed to win market share over the past year, which has risen from 19.8% to 20.6%. Hard on its heels is PSA-Peugeot Citroën (1,865 million registrations) and experiencing a fall of -9.1%). In third place, Ford-Volvo (1,461 million; -5.2%) ahead of GM Europe (1,407 million; -13.9%) With 1,286 million registrations, Renault, fell by -6.9% into fifth place. The two German champions for the higher end of the market, BMW and Mercedes are faring quite well with their subsidiaries producing small cars. BMW has managed to limit its total fall in car registrations to -3.5%, thanks to its “Mini”, which is practically stable (-0.8%) and Mercedes to -5.9%, thanks to its “Smart” production subsidiary (+7.1%). Asian group specialist manufacturers of 4x4 posted very bad results: Toyota (-13.6%), Suzuki (-13.5%), Mitsubishi (-19.2%) and Hyundai (-14.7%).