The UK's new car registrations climbed 7.1% year over year to 160,662 units in May, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders published Thursday.
SMMT said the latest reading reflects the best recorded for the month since 2019 due to the resurgence of private buyers, though it remains 12.6% behind pre-pandemic levels.
For the five months to May, new car sales in Britain totaled 924,763 units, up 8.7% annually.
Germany's construction activity continued to decline at a marked pace in May, with broad-based contraction led by the housing market, S&P Global said Thursday.The S&P Global Germany Construction PMI Total Activity edged up to 42.4 from April's 13-month low of 42.1, but remained well below the 50 no-change mark due to highly challenging business conditions and soaring input costs.
Italy's construction sector downturn eased in May, as business activity and new orders saw their mildest contractions in three months, S&P Global said Thursday.The S&P Global Italy Construction PMI came in at 49.4 in May, up from 44.8 in April, which was the index's lowest level in more than three and a half years.
France's construction sector remained deep in contraction territory in May, albeit with a slight improvement in the rate of decline of new construction work and overall business activity, S&P Global said Thursday.The S&P Global France Construction PMI Total Activity Index climbed to 39.6 in May from 38.1 in April. The reading still points to a sharp contraction in output, marking one of the steepest declines since the pandemic.