This decline was justified as in August 2018 there was an exceptional increase in sales of 31.2% before the entry into force in September 2018 of new emissions tests.

Sales fell in the main European markets, but the most marked were in Spain (30.8%), Portugal (19%), Romania (18.8%), Finland (16.8%) and France (14.1%).

In the first eight months of the year, sales of passenger cars in the EU fell by 3.2% compared to the same period in 2018, with a total of 10.5 million registrations, indicated the association in a statement quoted by Efe.

By brand, between January and August, falling sales were reported by Nissan (-27.3%), Honda (-14.1%), the FCA (Fiat Chrysler) group (-12.1%), while increasing sales were reported by Mitsubishi (8.3%), Volvo (4.4%) and Daimler (3.9%).