Car sales in Western Europe fell by 18.5% in July according to data released by JD Power automotive forecasting with a host of national markets recording big falls on last year.
JD Power analysts said that the result highlights the difficulties the industry faces in the region now that nearly all the government scrappage schemes are at an end.
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It said a seasonally adjusted annualised selling rate (SAAR) of just 11.1m units a a year in July is the worst figure since January 2009, before the scrapping schemes began boosting the market.
Car sales in Germany were down by 30.1% in the month – the year-to-date market was down by 28.9%. JD Power said the decline in Germany was ‘a reflection of comparisons to the heavily inflated 2009 market’.
The Spanish market fell by 24% as the ending of the scrapping scheme and an increase in VAT took their toll. The UK was another market showing clear signs of missing government support as registrations fell 13%.
The French market was also down 13%: it is suffering as the government scrapping incentive is reduced through 2010. With no government incentive in Italy, this market was also down significantly at 26% lower.
JD Power is forecasting a West European car market of 12.72m units this year, 6.9% down on last year.
