UK: Europe sales off 25.3%

European new car sales fell 25.3% to 924,936 units, down from 1,238,297 in 2007, according to UK-based analysts Jato Dynamics.

Go deeper with GlobalData

• 

  Reports

  UK Mobile Operator KPI Market to 2015: Average Revenue Per Subscrip...

• 

  Reports

  Germany Mobile Operator KPI Market to 2015: Average Revenue Per Sub...

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The year to date decline was 7.1% to 13,556,052 units, 1,030,584 units lower than last year.

“The market is usually less buoyant at this time of year,” said Jato spokesman David Di Girolamo.

“Though this is an unprecedented drop in sales, it’s not wholly unexpected, given the current economic climate. There has been some movement between brands in the top 10 table, but Volkswagen maintains its increasingly secure grip on the top spot.”

Brands

Volkswagen again was Europe’s top-selling car brand during November, ahead of Ford, Renault, Opel/Vauxhall and Fiat.

Audi stood out in a depressed market for posting sales of just 1.1% less than November 2007 while enjoying a 0.2% (1,457 units) sales increase YTD, largely buoyed by the strong performance of its new A4. Few other brands posted increased sales during the last month, though, with a 27.9% rise to 10,163 units, Dacia was noteworthy, following the Sandero introduction. YTD, Dacia was up 42.6% from 68,149 to 97,206.

Other manufacturers notable for YTD performance were Nissan (up 9.9%, 28,971 units), Mazda (up 2.4%, 5,356 units), Smart (up 12.1%, 10,486 units), Subaru (up 10.5%, 4,439 units) and Jaguar (up 13.3%, 4,120 units).

Models

The VW Golf – about to be replaced by a redesigned model – maintained its lead as Europe’s top-selling car during November (up 5.5% YTD).

The Golf led the redesigned Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207, Ford Focus, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Passat, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Audi A4 and Fiat Punto.

As the market continued to fall, Audi’s new A4 was the only vehicle in the top 10 that managed a sales increase during November, up 21.2% and in ninth place in the European car market. YTD, the model’s sales were up 16.6%, placing it ninth overall.

Other new models performing well in the European new car market include the Hyundai i10, Dacia Sandero, Ford Kuga, Alfa Romeo Mito, Lancia Delta, Suzuki Splash, Renault Koleos, Audi Q5 and BMW X6.

Increased sales during November have also been enjoyed by the Peugeot 308, Opel/Vauxhall Agila, Nissan Qashqai, Fiat 500, Renault Twingo, VW Tiguan, Citroën C5 and Renault Modus, largely due to the addition of new versions or increased availability.

National Trends

As expected given the current global economic conditions, the majority of markets across Europe recorded significantly lower new car sales in November 2008 than during the same month last year. Most noticeably, Iceland’s sales fell by a staggering 94.6%, from 1,365 units in November 2007 to just 74 units in November 2008.

Finland, however recorded sales of 77.5% more than a year ago, with new car sales jumping from 3,631 in November 2007 to 6,445 last month. This still represents a downturn when compared to the same month every year for the past decade, but for 2007 when the market was depressed due to imminent tax changes. This depression also explains the YTD rise of 9.5%.

Other markets recording YTD up-turns included Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland, thanks to strong sales early in the year.

 Top Ten Brands

 Top Ten Models

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Sign up