UK: Decline in Europe’s new car market slows in October
By Graeme Roberts | 20 November 2012
- Europe’s new car sales declined by 4.6% in October, and 7.2% year to date compared to last year
- Sales were up 12.1% in Great Britain last month and 0.5% in Germany but declined in the other big five markets
- Volkswagen’s Golf maintained its lead despite transition to seventh generation model
According to the latest analysis from JATO Dynamics, the overall European new car market continues to fall in 2012 but at a slower rate.
Continuing low consumer confidence and high unemployment compounded by the recent increase in VAT have contributed to the continuous decline in the Netherlands.
Among the top 10 brands, only Audi and Mercedes recorded a sales increase in October.
Peugeot’s new 208 performed well as it climbed into the top three behind Volkswagen’s Golf and Ford’s Fiesta.
Audi, up 9.8% in October and 5.5% YTD, and Mercedes-Benz, up 3.7% in October and 1.0% YTD, were the only brands in the top 10 recording increasing sales. Just outside the top 10, sales of Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and Volvo cars are also growing.
The new Peugeot 208 is proving popular with customers across the region, selling in greater numbers than its predecessor, the 207, did a year ago, despite tougher market conditions. Meanwhile the new Fiat Panda is defying market trends in Italy, leading to a 23.9% increase in sales in Europe in October. Sales of the Fiat 500, while outside the top 10, also rose in October, by 15.4%.
The Nissan Qashqai continues to prove that older models can still post strong sales given the right marketing and product improvements with volumes in October 15.7% higher than a year ago, and a place in the top 10.
Outside the top 10, it was mostly new or recently revised models, such as the BMW 3-Series, Toyota Yaris, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Up and BMW 1-Series that saw improved sales compared to October 2011.
Gareth Hession, research head at JATO said: “The rising sales in Great Britain and Germany show some signs of hope for the European car industry but the industry must not be complacent. Market conditions are still tough, particularly in southern Europe and the Golf’s dominance remains evident for its competitors.”
Sales by Market
|
Country |
Oct_12 |
Oct_11 |
% Change Oct |
Oct YtD_12 |
Oct YtD_11 |
% Change YtD |
|
Austria |
26,322 |
28,909 |
-8.9% |
293,212 |
302,448 |
-3.1% |
|
Belgium* |
41,103 |
42,462 |
-3.2% |
427,836 |
483,008 |
-11.4% |
|
Croatia |
1,985 |
3,124 |
-36.5% |
28,364 |
35,950 |
-21.1% |
|
Cyprus |
775 |
1,158 |
-33.1% |
8,830 |
11,152 |
-20.8% |
|
Czech Republic |
15,689 |
14,858 |
+5.6% |
146,559 |
142,343 |
+3.0% |
|
Denmark |
15,208 |
12,394 |
+22.7% |
143,587 |
139,492 |
+2.9% |
|
Estonia |
1,630 |
1,523 |
+7.0% |
16,821 |
14,245 |
+18.1% |
|
Finland |
8,190 |
10,055 |
-18.5% |
97,031 |
110,074 |
-11.8% |
|
France |
162,335 |
176,103 |
-7.8% |
1,593,855 |
1,837,374 |
-13.3% |
|
Germany |
259,529 |
258,253 |
+0.5% |
2,618,327 |
2,659,989 |
-1.6% |
|
Great Britain |
151,252 |
134,944 |
+12.1% |
1,771,861 |
1,688,038 |
+5.0% |
|
Greece |
5,101 |
5,021 |
+1.6% |
50,493 |
84,115 |
-40.0% |
|
Hungary |
4,078 |
3,557 |
+14.6% |
43,677 |
37,614 |
+16.1% |
|
Iceland |
519 |
319 |
+62.7% |
6,890 |
4,401 |
+56.6% |
|
Ireland |
1,661 |
1,568 |
+5.9% |
78,291 |
88,747 |
-11.8% |
|
Italy |
117,936 |
134,504 |
-12.3% |
1,210,195 |
1,512,424 |
-20.0% |
|
Latvia |
1,001 |
974 |
+2.8% |
8,996 |
8,751 |
+2.8% |
|
Lithuania |
1,188 |
1,180 |
+0.7% |
10,365 |
11,147 |
-7.0% |
|
Luxembourg |
4,454 |
3,923 |
+13.5% |
43,544 |
43,532 |
+0.0% |
|
Norway |
12,457 |
11,594 |
+7.4% |
117,995 |
115,740 |
+1.9% |
|
Poland |
22,108 |
22,436 |
-1.5% |
228,425 |
222,667 |
+2.6% |
|
Portugal* |
8,663 |
9,144 |
-5.3% |
83,171 |
132,669 |
-37.3% |
|
Romania |
6,782 |
7,828 |
-13.4% |
55,910 |
63,707 |
-12.2% |
|
Serbia |
1,653 |
1,885 |
-12.3% |
18,756 |
24,939 |
-24.8% |
|
Slovakia |
4,796 |
5,755 |
-16.7% |
58,531 |
55,758 |
+5.0% |
|
Slovenia |
3,738 |
4,547 |
-17.8% |
42,445 |
50,925 |
-16.7% |
|
Spain |
45,146 |
57,321 |
-21.2% |
587,540 |
681,581 |
-13.8% |
|
Sweden |
24,028 |
25,052 |
-4.1% |
227,739 |
252,688 |
-9.9% |
|
Switzerland |
25,944 |
26,799 |
-3.2% |
269,714 |
258,633 |
+4.3% |
|
The Netherlands |
26,896 |
43,635 |
-38.4% |
454,245 |
497,487 |
-8.7% |
|
Grand Total |
1,002,167 |
1,050,825 |
-4.6% |
10,743,205 |
11,571,638 |
-7.2% |
* denotes estimated data used for October 2012
Top 10 Brands
|
Make |
Oct_12 |
Oct_11 |
% Change Oct |
Oct YtD_12 |
Oct YtD_11 |
% Change YtD |
|
VOLKSWAGEN |
133,319 |
133,929 |
-0.5% |
1,381,193 |
1,426,550 |
-3.2% |
|
FORD |
76,669 |
82,553 |
-7.1% |
823,663 |
937,691 |
-12.2% |
|
RENAULT |
65,965 |
86,667 |
-23.9% |
695,010 |
883,434 |
-21.3% |
|
PEUGEOT |
65,683 |
68,854 |
-4.6% |
685,781 |
787,780 |
-12.9% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL |
59,605 |
68,108 |
-12.5% |
718,404 |
847,107 |
-15.2% |
|
AUDI |
58,868 |
53,621 |
+9.8% |
608,427 |
576,587 |
+5.5% |
|
CITROEN |
55,609 |
58,969 |
-5.7% |
583,847 |
660,165 |
-11.6% |
|
BMW |
51,061 |
51,524 |
-0.9% |
532,374 |
538,039 |
-1.1% |
|
FIAT |
48,195 |
49,755 |
-3.1% |
500,050 |
594,829 |
-15.9% |
|
MERCEDES |
47,441 |
45,756 |
+3.7% |
501,805 |
496,800 |
+1.0% |
Top 10 Models
|
Make & Model |
Oct_12 |
Oct_11 |
% Change Oct |
|
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF |
33,156 |
37,714 |
-12.1% |
|
FORD FIESTA |
26,145 |
26,431 |
-1.1% |
|
PEUGEOT 208 |
23,352 |
0 |
- |
|
RENAULT CLIO |
23,301 |
23,773 |
-2.0% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN POLO |
22,817 |
29,110 |
-21.6% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA |
18,649 |
22,587 |
-17.4% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA |
18,079 |
20,314 |
-11.0% |
|
FORD FOCUS |
17,779 |
19,762 |
-10.0% |
|
FIAT PANDA |
17,377 |
14,023 |
+23.9% |
|
NISSAN QASHQAI |
16,720 |
14,452 |
+15.7% |
Top 10 Models YtD
|
Make & Model |
Oct YtD_12 |
Oct YtD_11 |
% Change YtD |
|
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF |
373,036 |
414,626 |
-10.0% |
|
FORD FIESTA |
264,122 |
301,850 |
-12.5% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN POLO |
247,519 |
303,733 |
-18.5% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA |
229,563 |
268,146 |
-14.4% |
|
FORD FOCUS |
207,715 |
245,201 |
-15.3% |
|
RENAULT CLIO |
203,388 |
252,602 |
-19.5% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA |
200,865 |
251,252 |
-20.1% |
|
NISSAN QASHQAI |
177,795 |
177,123 |
+0.4% |
|
RENAULT MEGANE |
169,356 |
204,061 |
-17.0% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT |
166,297 |
198,672 |
-16.3% |
Sectors: Emerging markets, Vehicle markets
Companies: Volkswagen, Mercedes, Peugeot, Fiat, Audi, BMW, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo
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