French car registrations tumbled 12% in February, the country’s main car industry body said on Friday, as a weak economy continued to weigh on demand for new vehicles.
Registrations fell to 143,366 cars in a 15th consecutive monthly contraction, the Paris-based CCFA said in a statement cited by Reuters. Ford led the decline among major carmakers with a 33% sales slump.
Go deeper with GlobalData
PSA Peugeot Citroen sales dropped 16% in its home market while smaller domestic rival Renault recorded an 11% decline.
The CCFA also cut its full-year market outlook, saying 2013 registrations would fall by at least 5%, compared with a “stable” forecast given at the start of the year.
The February decline also reflected a smaller number of sales days than in the year earlier month. Corrected for these calendar effects, registrations fell a more modest 7.7%.
Volkswagen, which has so far resisted the worst of Europe’s protracted market slump, recorded a 7.5% drop in February sales. Its French market share rose to 14.14% for the first two months of the year from 13.77% a year earlier.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataHyundai-Kia bucked the falling market with a 5% gain – buoyed by a 24% sales surge for the Hyundai brand.
Toyota sales rose 12% as the Japanese automaker continued to recover business lost in the wake of the 2011 tsunami and resulting industrial disruption.
BMW also claimed a bigger share of the shrinking French market as its sales fell just 2.7%.
