New Car Sales Slip In Europe

May 16, 2007
Eastern Europe was strong but Germany, France and Spain were weak.

New car sales in Europe fell by 0.6% in April because of weakness in Germany, France and Spain and despite strong performance in Eastern Europe, the European automobile association ACEA said on May 16.

Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe -- comprising the EU members except Cyprus and Malta, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland -- totaled 1.292 million units in April compared to 1.299 million a year earlier.

"While the new EU member states enjoyed the fourth consecutive month of growth, Western Europe performed below the trend," ACEA said.The German car market, the biggest in Europe, was particularly weak, with registrations, dropping 7% over the period and continuing a weak trend since a sales tax hike at the beginning of the year. The French and Spanish markets were nearly as weak, with registrations tumbling 5% in France and 6% in Spain. However, the EU's newest member states, mostly former communist countries in Eastern Europe, saw registrations jump 12.9%.

Among the major brands, Europe's leading carmaker VW Group saw sales ease 0.2% in April over one year while France's PSA Group, the second-biggest European carmaker, saw sales rise 1.5%. They were followed by Ford, which saw sales rise 2.4%, and GM, which saw sales fall 4.7%. Fiat's recovery after several lean years continued to gather steam as its sales surged 8% while Renault's sales tumbled 10.5%. Toyota enjoyed strong growth in February with its sales rising 1.3% while DaimlerChrysler saw sales drop 4.6% and rival BMW saw an increase of 2.6%.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!