EU Car Sales Dip 2.3% in Q1 2011, March Worse at -5%

AutoInformed.com

The Volkswagen group retained its commanding share in the EU at better than 21% of the market.

Sales woes for light vehicles in the European Union continued in March as registrations totaled 1,558,915 new cars, a decline of 5% compared to what was a weak March for EU car sales last year. The month counted on average the same number of working days across the region in 2010 and 2011, according to ACEA, the automakers’ trade group.

During the first quarter, demand for new cars in the EU decreased by 2.3%, with 3,583,185 units registered. Simply put the EU faces severe economic problems in Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Portugal and Spain, among other member states, the result of profligate government borrowing during the housing bubble.

The European passenger car market shrank for the third straight year in 2010, with registrations declining by 5.5%, from 2009. As to the losers in 2010, Fiat Group and Ford stand out for large drops of 17% and 14% respectively. Each lost the equivalent in sales of the output of a final assembly plant. GM group also dropped 8% with all brands declining – Opel/Vauxhall, Chevrolet and of course the now sold Saab.

March 2011 https://fulvicplus.com/product/buy-levitra-vardenafil/ results were mixed.  Looking at the major markets, France (+6.1%) and Germany (+11.4%) posted growth while the UK (-7.9%), Italy (-27.6%) and Spain (-29.1%) faced severe downturns. These results are problematic for Fiat, the owner of Chrysler and Ford Motor Company, which is traditionally strong in the UK. Nonetheless, the UK recorded the most vehicles (366,101), followed by Germany (327,921) and France (257,533).

The Volkswagen group retained its commanding share in the EU at better than 21% of the market. Following were PSA Group (12.8%), Renault Group (8.8), GM Group (9.0), Ford (8.8), Fiat Group (6.7), BMW Group (5.6), Toyota Group (4.5), Daimler (4.4), and Nissan (3.7). Although once you get past Fiat, no group sells more than 100,000 units a month in what is a fiercely contested and fragmented market.

From January to March, although most markets expanded, prominent ones such as the British (-8.7%), the Italian (-23.1%) and the Spanish (-27.3%) recorded losses, which resulted in a 2.3% downturn across the region. The steepest fall was noted in Greece (-57.4%) and the largest growth recorded in Latvia (+131.7%). The Latvian market remained however the smallest (1,902 units) while Germany registered the most vehicles (763,403) over the first quarter.

About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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