The European Automotive Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reports EU passenger car registrations falling sharply in August, down -18.9% year on year, compared with -5.7% in July. 
In August all countries in the EU, with the exception of Cyprus, saw registrations decline compared with August 2019. With a marginal decline of -0.4% Italy performed best compared with strong declines in Germany (-20.0%) and France (-19.8%). French car purchase incentives ceased in July having boosted sales during the previous two months.
For the first eight months of 2020 EU registrations declined -32% year on year. The largest fall was recorded in Spain (-40.6%), followed by  Italy (-38.9%), France (-32.0%) and Germany (-28.8%). 
UK registrations (not included in the ACEA EU total) were down -39.7% for the eight months, but declined only -5.8% in August. September ‘new-plate’ registrations in the UK are expected to be a critical indicator of recovery levels.