Car sales in Western Europe declined by 6.6% in April as much of the region reeled under the weight of ongoing economic problems.
Data released by LMC Automotive showed that the West European car market contracted, in year-on-year terms, for the seventh month in a row as many economies continued to struggle.
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One bright spot was the German car market which continued to partially offset declines elsewhere. Car sales for Germany were up by 3% on last year, with cumulative sales this year up by 1.8%. LMC estimated that the seasonally adjusted annualised selling rate (SAAR) for Germany in April was a respectable 3.4m units a year.
“The German economy is holding up well,” said LMC analyst Jonathan Poskitt. “The big question is how long that will continue to be the case.”
Elsewhere, further declines were evident. Italy’s selling rate in April (though up on March’s 1.2m units due to a truckers’ strike) was a paltry 1.6m units a year, still very low by historical standards.
LMC said that the Spanish car market continues to “look to be in a great deal of difficulty”. A market contraction of over a fifth is just the latest in a long line of poor results, but worryingly, the selling rate fell below 700,000 units a year for the first time since the mid-90s. The latest jobless results make for grim reading too, with unemployment standing at 24.4%. LMC noted.
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By GlobalDataThe French market was down a little in April, with this the first month of the year that isn’t being compared to the early part of 2011 when a spillover of scrappage registrations were still having a big impact on market results. The selling rate stood at just under 2m units a year.
The UK market climbed last month thanks to an improvement in private retail sales, with the overall selling rate climbing above 2m units a year for the first time in nearly a year. However, as elsewhere in the region, economic conditions remain very testing, LMC added.
LMC forecasts the West European car market at 12m units in 2012, 6.2% below last year and almost a fifth below 2007.
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