New EU car registrations increased sharply in July, reflecting the industry's recovery from pandemic-related supply disruptions, while in Croatia they stagnated, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) showed on Wednesday.

A total of 851,156 new cars were registered in the European Union in July 2023, up by 15.2% from July 2022.

New car sales have been growing at double-digit rates since October 2022, reflecting the industry’s recovery from last year’s component shortages.

Most markets posted solid growth, including the four largest: France (+19.9%), Germany (+18.1%), Spain (+10.7%) and Italy (+8.7%), ACEA said.

In Croatia, new car registrations remained at the level of July 2022, totalling 5,141 units. In June 2023, new car sales jumped by 43.7%.

Sales decreased only in Hungary and Malta, by 6.8%, and in Sweden, by 3.0%.

In the year to July 2023, new EU car registrations grew by 17.6% compared with the same period in 2022, totalling 6.3 million units.

Despite indications of the European automotive industry’s recovery from pandemic-related supply disruptions, year-to-date volumes are still 22% lower than in 2019. There were double-digit percentage gains in most markets during this seven-month period, including the four largest: Spain (+21.9%), Italy (+20.9%), France (+15.8%), and Germany (+13.6%).

In Croatia, 38,575 new cars were registered in the first seven months of 2023, an increase of 37.8% compared with the same period in 2022.