The passenger car business developed positively in most of the world’s markets in January according to the VDA in its latest monthly review.
The German auto industry trade association said that following the major decline in demand for vehicles worldwide last year, many markets have started 2010 by posting sales increases.
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The VDA noted that sales were strong in Western Europe in January with more than one million new passenger car registrations recorded a 16% increase on last year.
The French market grew by 14%, although the scrappage program payment in France was reduced by 30% to EUR700.
In the UK a sales tax increase (VAT rose from 15% to 17.5%) proved no impediment to achieving higher sales, which rose by nearly 30 percent on a low base; sales in Italy increased by the same rate. In Spain registrations of new passenger vehicles were up 18 percent in January. As a result of the various expiring scrappage programs, however, demand in Western Europe may be significantly weaker in the coming months, VDA maintains.
The VDA also noted that car demand in Central and Eastern Europe remains weak with sales in the new EU countries down 23% year-on-year in January.
However, in the Czech Republic demand for passenger vehicles in the first month of this year increased by more than 20%, continuing the positive performance from 2009. The Slovenian market posted growth of 10% in January. In Slovakia the number of new vehicle registrations was at about the same level as in January 2009. The passenger car business in Poland was down by 5%, and there are still no signs of recovery on the markets in Bulgaria (-47%), Hungary (-55%), and Romania (-85%).
Demand also continued to be weak in Russia, where just under 74,100 passenger vehicles were sold in January (-37%). A scrappage program is expected to stimulate demand in Russia beginning in March, VDA says. The program calls for incentive payments to be made to customers who purchase a new car built by a Russian automaker or a model from a foreign manufacturer — which must however have a high content of components and materials from Russian companies.
In January sales of light vehicles in the US continued to stabilise. A total of 695,700 passenger vehicles and light trucks were sold, surpassing the result achieved in the same month last year by more than 6%. Demand for German brands was up nearly 25%, much higher than the level of demand on the market overall, VDA said.
Sales on the Brazilian market rose by more than 6% in the first month of 2010, with 201,700 light vehicles sold. In neighbouring Argentina car sales increased by 48% from their previously low level.
New vehicle registrations in Japan were up by almost 25% in January, to almost 320,000 units. Demand for passenger vehicles in Japan has been rising since mid-2009 due to the first indications of recovery for the Japanese economy, payment of scrappage incentives, and a sales tax reduction. Financial subsidies for boosting new vehicle sales in the country are expected to continue until the end of March.
In China sales of passenger vehicles more than doubled (+121%) to just under 1.1 million units in January, which was a month of lacklustre sales last year.
The passenger vehicle business in India grew by almost 37% in the first month of 2010.
