Western Europe car sales took a real hit in July according to data released by JD Power Automotive Forecasting.
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Car sales in Western Europe fell by 6.7% in July and the forecaster said the latest result highlights that we are now in a period of pronounced slowdown, with the full year result set to be the worst since 1997.
While the French market held up relatively well, large falls came in from the key markets of the UK, Italy, and Spain, where the rates of decline were in double digits.
JD Power said that given consumer confidence is diminishing and the global economic picture continues to deteriorate, it is now more pessimistic on the sales outlook for 2008 and 2009. OEMs are scaling back, it says.
The UK market took a decisive turn for the worse in July, with a shortfall in demand of 13% on July 2007. All market components are under pressure but private retail sales were particularly hit — down by a hefty 17%.
The Spanish market fell back by 28% in July, after the 31% drop in June. The seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of sales paints a bleak picture — it stood at just 1.03 mn units/year for the most recent month, JD Power said.
The German market was up 1.5% year-on-year. But unfortunately, the shine is rather taken off this result when the extra selling day in the month is taken into account. The German market should still see its 2008 total eclipse the decidely weak result achieved in 2007, though not by much.
The French market put in another stable performance last month, and remains on course for a circa 1% improvement on last year’s level.
