ISTANBUL

The passenger car market in the EU expanded 11.2% in the first eight months of 2021 compared to the same period last year, an industry association revealed on Thursday.

Automobile registrations across the 27-member bloc stood at 6.8 million units in January-August, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a statement.

"Despite the weak performance of EU markets during the summer months, substantial gains earlier in the year kept cumulative growth in positive territory," it said.

Almost all EU markets posted positive results in the eight-month period – Greece posted the strongest increase with 41.9%; Croatia (36.7%), and Italy (30.9%) followed it.

Among manufacturer groups' EU sales, the largest uplift was posted by Hyundai Group – the owner of Kia and Hyundai brands – and Toyota Group – Toyota and Lexus, both growing 26.1%.

Mitsubishi, Honda, Renault Group (Renault, Dacia, Alpine, Lada), Nissan, and Ford posted negative figures in the eight-month period.

Last month, the car sales posted a decline of 19.1% to 622,993 units.

"The largest car markets posted double-digit declines: Spain (-28.9%), Italy (-27.3%), Germany (-23.0%), and France (-15.0%)," it added.

The EU is the main automotive export market for Turkey, where top international automakers – Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, Renault, and Toyota – are operating.