Mubasher: The Eurozone’s new passenger car sales rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2017, supported by the strong performance seen in Italy’s and Spain’s vehicle markets.

European demand for passenger cars increased by around 3.4% last year, exceeding 15 million car registrations for the first time since 2007, data by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed on Wednesday.

Growth was mainly driven by the 7.9% gain in the Italian market and the 7.7% rise in Spain, which managed to offset the 5.7% fall in the UK.

In December, however, sales declined 4.9% to around 1.08 million cars as working days were less compared with the same month of the previous year.