THE number of new cars registered across Europe in 2006 shows a slight improvement over the previous year, latest figures show.

A total of 15,364,997 units were sold last year, an increase of 0.7% over 2005’s figure of 15,254,593 units.

But a spokesman for the European Automobile Manufacturers’

Association (ACEA) noted that, of the five main markets, only Germany increased sales, partly fuelled by new product launches and consumer confidence. On sales drops in France, Italy, Spain and the UK, he said: ‘Buyer uncertainty, fed by fuel price fluctuations and rising interest rates, were – in addition to the lack of new models – the most frequently evoked factors affecting these markets in 2006.’

Country		Jan-Dec 06		Jan-Dec 05		Variance
Austria		308,594		307,915		+0.2%
Belgium		526,141		480,088		+9.6%
Denmark		156,275		148,819		+5.0%
Finland		145,700		148,161		-1.7%
France		2,000,549		2,067,789		-3.3%
Germany		3,467,961		3,342,122		+3.8%
Greece		267,706		269,733		-0.8%
Ireland		178,826		171,732		+4.1%
Italy		2,321,099		2,237,444		+3.7%
Luxembourg		50,837		48,517		+4.8%
Netherlands		483,994		465,152		+4.1%
Portugal		194,684		206,488		-5.7%
Spain		1,499,032		1,528,877		-2.0%
Sweden		282,766		274,301		+3.1%
UK		2,344,864		2,439,717		-3.9%
EU15		14,229,028		14,136,855		+0.7%
Iceland		17,129		18,060		-5.2%
Norway		109,164		109,907		-0.7%
Switzerland		268,894		264,941		+1.5%
EFTA		395,187		392,908		+0.6%
EU15+EFTA		14,624,215		14,529,763		+0.7%
Czech Republic		123,987		127,376		-2.7%
Estonia		25,515		19,581		+30.3%
Hungary		193,462		198,982		-2.8%
Latvia		25,626		16,680		+53.6%
Lithuania		14,044		10,467		+34.2%
Poland		239,038		235,504		+1.5%
Slovakia		59,084		56,916		+3.8%
Slovenia		60,026		59,324		+1.2%
EU (new members)		740,782		724,830		+2.2%
European Union		14,969,810		14,861,685		+0.7%
Total Europe (EU+EFTA)		15,364,997		15,254,593		+0.7%