French new car sales fell 4% in April as weak consumer spending continued to stifle recovery in western Europe’s hardest-hit major car market, data published on Monday showed.
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According to Reuters, French carmakers’ association CCFA said in a statement new car sales fell to 173,639 units compared to 180,784 units a year earlier.
There was reportedly no difference in the number of business days in April compared with the year-ago period, making it the 10th straight monthly fall in France on an underlying basis.
The report said sales of Renault cars fell 2.4% in April despite the company’s popular revamped Megane model range, as it pulls out of less profitable markets. PSA Peugeot Citroen – suffering from a scant offering of new models – saw sales plunge 14.3%.
That meant car sales in France, where motorists have been slower to return to showrooms than in most other European countries, have fallen about 3% so far this year, Reuters said.
The news agency noted that most experts had been betting on a flat market, or even slightly higher this year, after sales in the euro zone’s second biggest economy plunged 6.3% last year. This bet is starting to look ambitious.
“April gave no real sign of recovery in France, which remains with Germany, the most morose market of the major European countries,” the CCFA said in a statement cited by Reuters.
The news agency said car sales in western Europe as a whole rose almost 3% in the first quarter, although this was partly due to extra business days and many experts say recovery is not yet in full swing.
Foreign carmakers boosted sales in April by 3.8%, lifting their share of the market to 42% thanks to gains by US giant Ford and Japanese manufacturers, the report added.
