Data released by JATO Dynamics shows that Europe’s car market slowed to growth of just 0.8% in May. However, the underlying picture remains one of national markets in recovery.
Last month’s sales were negatively impacted by fewer selling days, leaving analysts fairly sanguine about underlying demand – for now.
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This month, attention has turned to developments concerning Greece’s bailout crisis and possible knock-on effects for the wider European economy.
If Greece fails to make a debt repayment deadline imposed by creditors for the end of June, Greece could exit Europe’s single currency. That event could trigger turbulence in financial markets and Europe’s economy could be hit by the subsequent dent to confidence. Any deterioration to the economic outlook for the region would threaten the long and gradual recovery to Europe’s car market that has taken hold over the past 18 months.
However, the JATO data also shows that so far this year overall, new car sales across Europe have increased by 7%. Spain recorded a 14.6% increase compared to May 2014 as government subsidies were renewed.
Brian Walters, Vice President of Data at JATO Dynamics, took an upbeat view of the underlying market position last month. “The number of trading days can affect monthly volumes, disguising underlying trends,” he pointed out. “The fact that growth continued despite this, along with the strong year-to-date growth gives us reason to be confident about the health of the car market in Europe.”
Volkswagen maintained its lead of the market, as its sales dropped by only 1.1% in May and increased by 7.3% year-to-date. Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot completed the Top Five for the month, while Opel/Vauxhall moved ahead of Renault this month for the year-to-date measure.
Despite the lost trading days four of the Top Ten brands recorded increased sales, mostly down to recent model introductions, such as Fiat’s 500X, Renault’s Kadjar and Mercedes’ latest C-Class.
See also: COMMENT: Europe’s auto sector nervous on economic outlook
JATO new car sales data
| Sales by Market | ||||||
| Country | May_15 | May_14 | % change May | May Ytd_15 | May Ytd_14 | % change Ytd |
| Austria | 26517 | 26986 | -1.70% | 131171 | 137507 | -4.60% |
| Belgium | 40502 | 42955 | -5.70% | 238998 | 244806 | -2.40% |
| Croatia | 4911 | 4831 | 1.70% | 16635 | 16682 | -0.30% |
| Cyprus+ | 729 | 722 | 1.00% | 3374 | 3328 | 1.40% |
| Czech Republic | 18113 | 15396 | 17.60% | 91292 | 75395 | 21.10% |
| Denmark | 17044 | 16863 | 1.10% | 83434 | 81186 | 2.80% |
| Estonia | 1748 | 1987 | -12.00% | 8697 | 8775 | -0.90% |
| Finland | 9113 | 10097 | -9.70% | 48083 | 49879 | -3.60% |
| France | 143733 | 148926 | -3.50% | 791681 | 761535 | 4.00% |
| Germany | 256385 | 274804 | -6.70% | 1305410 | 1260654 | 3.60% |
| Great Britain | 198706 | 194032 | 2.40% | 1119072 | 1058974 | 5.70% |
| Greece* | 7096 | 7696 | -7.80% | 30435 | 28196 | 7.90% |
| Hungary | 5883 | 5776 | 1.90% | 29752 | 27001 | 10.20% |
| Ireland | 6940 | 6272 | 10.70% | 80913 | 63996 | 26.40% |
| Italy | 147084 | 133177 | 10.40% | 728449 | 633757 | 14.90% |
| Latvia | 1174 | 1121 | 4.70% | 5622 | 5038 | 11.60% |
| Lithuania | 1467 | 1340 | 9.50% | 6974 | 6113 | 14.10% |
| Luxembourg | 4231 | 5198 | -18.60% | 21133 | 22729 | -7.00% |
| Norway | 12346 | 12639 | -2.30% | 61038 | 61792 | -1.20% |
| Poland | 27186 | 24203 | 12.30% | 147379 | 127463 | 15.60% |
| Portugal* | 16126 | 13786 | 17.00% | 77398 | 60077 | 28.80% |
| Romania | 5927 | 6001 | -1.20% | 25842 | 24278 | 6.40% |
| Serbia* | 1830 | 1857 | -1.50% | 7692 | 7770 | -1.00% |
| Slovakia | 6517 | 6212 | 4.90% | 29319 | 27892 | 5.10% |
| Slovenia | 5388 | 4737 | 13.70% | 26383 | 23412 | 12.70% |
| Spain | 95440 | 83294 | 14.60% | 447312 | 368291 | 21.50% |
| Sweden | 29458 | 27652 | 6.50% | 135727 | 122998 | 10.30% |
| Switzerland | 26902 | 25766 | 4.40% | 127440 | 121833 | 4.60% |
| The Netherlands | 26593 | 31563 | -15.70% | 164516 | 168537 | -2.40% |
| Grand Total | 1145089 | 1135889 | 0.80% | 5991171 | 5599894 | 7.00% |
NOTE: + denotes estimated data included for May_15
* denotes forecast data from LMC Automotive included for May_15
| Top Ten Models | ||||||
| Make & Model | May_15 | May_14 | % change May | May Ytd_15 | May Ytd_14 | % change Ytd |
| VOLKSWAGEN GOLF | 44786 | 46939 | -4.60% | 225648 | 225741 | 0.00% |
| FORD FIESTA | 25414 | 26355 | -3.60% | 140185 | 140373 | -0.10% |
| RENAULT CLIO | 24056 | 27268 | -11.80% | 134486 | 127947 | 5.10% |
| VOLKSWAGEN POLO | 23545 | 21051 | 11.80% | 127625 | 117808 | 8.30% |
| OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA | 21802 | 21514 | 1.30% | 123646 | 106803 | 15.80% |
| FORD FOCUS | 20227 | 18508 | 9.30% | 102570 | 99782 | 2.80% |
| SKODA OCTAVIA | 17711 | 18107 | -2.20% | 91352 | 87725 | 4.10% |
| VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT | 17579 | 14634 | 20.10% | 89405 | 65124 | 37.30% |
| OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA | 17494 | 17667 | -1.00% | 80408 | 78885 | 1.90% |
| NISSAN QASHQAI | 17427 | 17857 | -2.40% | 101499 | 91174 | 11.30% |
| Top Ten Brands | ||||||
| Make | May_15 | May_14 | % change May | May Ytd_15 | May YtD_14 | % change Ytd |
| VOLKSWAGEN | 142565 | 144201 | -1.10% | 732195 | 682429 | 7.30% |
| FORD | 82467 | 84172 | -2.00% | 442806 | 423406 | 4.60% |
| OPEL/VAUXHALL | 78086 | 80536 | -3.00% | 395889 | 379854 | 4.20% |
| RENAULT | 74568 | 71480 | 4.30% | 404403 | 362479 | 11.60% |
| PEUGEOT | 66766 | 69098 | -3.40% | 363195 | 346575 | 4.80% |
| AUDI | 62598 | 66794 | -6.30% | 324790 | 318963 | 1.80% |
| MERCEDES | 61375 | 58219 | 5.40% | 301311 | 273640 | 10.10% |
| FIAT | 57578 | 54846 | 5.00% | 287280 | 266802 | 7.70% |
| BMW | 57135 | 55718 | 2.50% | 300110 | 280884 | 6.80% |
| SKODA | 51827 | 52192 | -0.70% | 259124 | 246570 | 5.10% |
