For the first eight months of 2013, most major markets faced a downturn ranging from -3.6% in Spain to -6.6% in Germany, -9.0% in Italy and -9.8% in France.
European car sales dropped 5% in August as three of the big five markets – Germany, France and Italy – all posted losses. Only the U.K, with its own central bank and non-Euro currency showed growth at +10.9%, while Germany shrank by -5.5%, Italy by -6.6%, the France by -10.5% and the Spanish by -18.3%. Overall, there were 653,872 new car registrations in the month of August. The data belies the claims by auto executives at the Frankfurt show that the EU had reached bottom.
From January through August 2013, new car sales amounted to 7,841,596 units or 5.2% less than in the same period last year. This means that it was the lowest January to August level ever recorded since record keeping began in 1990, according to ACEA, the automakers trade association.
This means that for the first eight months of 2013, most major markets faced a downturn ranging from -3.6% in Spain to -6.6% in Germany, -9.0% in Italy and -9.8% in France. The UK was the only market to perform better than in the first eight months of 2012 (+10.44%).
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.
