UK: Central and eastern European markets off by nearly one third
New car sales in central and eastern European markets fell 28.1% last year according to data and intelligence provider JATO Dynamics.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The data showed that all but one of the major volume brands experienced a downturn in sales for the year, as the regional effects of the wider economic crisis were compounded by rising taxes and a lack of western style incentive schemes.
Less than 1m cars were sold in CEE in 2009 as the effects of recession were felt across the region, with only Poland ending the year with flat sales (+0.1%).
Many markets suffered double digit sales falls, with Latvia (-72.9%), Lithuania (-66.2%), Estonia (-59.6%) and Hungary (-60%) amongst the worst affected.
JATO said the picture was very different from two years ago, when the CEE region was considered the engine of growth in European new car sales.
David Di Girolamo, head of JATO Consult, said: “Central and Eastern Europe is not the new car market it once was. The lack of any formal incentive schemes, coupled with rising taxes and more stringent banking requirements, has reduced consumer demand across the region.”
Market Performance
|
Country |
Q4_09 |
Q4_08 |
% Change Q4 |
FY 2009 |
FY 2008 |
% Change Year |
|
Croatia |
9,694 |
18,201 |
-46.7% |
44,868 |
87,559 |
-48.8% |
|
Czech Republic |
43,911 |
43,317 |
+1.4% |
161,663 |
181,735 |
-11.0% |
|
Estonia |
2,096 |
3,771 |
-44.4% |
9,946 |
24,591 |
-59.6% |
|
Hungary |
11,841 |
32,557 |
-63.6% |
61,143 |
152,884 |
-60.0% |
|
Latvia |
1,029 |
3,285 |
-68.7% |
5,367 |
19,831 |
-72.9% |
|
Lithuania |
1,609 |
3,800 |
-57.7% |
7,515 |
22,217 |
-66.2% |
|
Poland |
80,676 |
84,418 |
-4.4% |
320,288 |
320,040 |
+0.1% |
|
Romania |
28,423 |
47,998 |
-40.8% |
130,195 |
270,995 |
-52.0% |
|
Serbia |
13,212 |
9,885 |
+33.7% |
42,343 |
49,192 |
-13.9% |
|
Slovakia |
16,213 |
23,114 |
-29.9% |
85,298 |
88,837 |
-4.0% |
|
Slovenia |
12,726 |
13,278 |
-4.2% |
55,712 |
68,533 |
-18.7% |
|
Grand Total |
221,430 |
283,624 |
-21.9% |
924,338 |
1,286,414 |
-28.1% |
Brand Performance
Skoda remained the region’s top-selling car brand in 2009, ahead of Volkswagen and Ford, showing the past efforts of major western manufacturers to enter eastern Europe.
Fiat was fourth overall and the only major brand showing growth compared to 2008 finishing 10.1% up by the end of the year. This was mainly due to the substitution of Zastava sales in Serbia after their takeover by Fiat.
Top 10 Brands
|
Make |
Q4_09 |
Q4_08 |
% Change Q4 |
FY 2009 |
FY 2008 |
% Change Year |
|
SKODA |
33,938 |
34,923 |
-2.8% |
121,291 |
160,579 |
-24.5% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN |
18,058 |
24,136 |
-25.2% |
71,885 |
99,013 |
-27.4% |
|
FORD |
16,403 |
20,827 |
-21.2% |
71,057 |
90,274 |
-21.3% |
|
FIAT |
18,365 |
13,944 |
+31.7% |
68,617 |
62,337 |
+10.1% |
|
RENAULT |
15,914 |
18,077 |
-12.0% |
67,562 |
84,822 |
-20.3% |
|
OPEL |
11,247 |
19,868 |
-43.4% |
53,409 |
97,613 |
-45.3% |
|
TOYOTA |
11,673 |
17,565 |
-33.5% |
52,894 |
80,311 |
-34.1% |
|
DACIA |
10,283 |
18,186 |
-43.5% |
50,361 |
88,472 |
-43.1% |
|
HYUNDAI |
10,118 |
11,553 |
-12.4% |
43,855 |
46,522 |
-5.7% |
|
KIA |
7,736 |
9,934 |
-22.1% |
40,909 |
43,098 |
-5.1% |
Model Performance
Skoda’s Octavia and Fabia took the top two sales spots in 2009, while the Dacia Logan saw its sales halve (-51.5%) in its drop to third place.
Aside from new market entrants and refreshed models, the picture for models was almost universally bleak, with even the Volkswagen Golf – Europe’s best-selling car – posting a 5% sales decline. The key exceptions were models assembled locally – the Hyundai i30 in the Czech Republic and the Fiat Punto Classic in Serbia.
Top 10 Models
|
Make & Model |
Q4_09 |
Q4_08 |
% Change Q4 |
FY 2009 |
FY 2008 |
% Change Year |
|
SKODA OCTAVIA |
18,880 |
15,985 |
+18.1% |
58,526 |
71,105 |
-17.7% |
|
SKODA FABIA |
9,650 |
13,973 |
-30.9% |
45,320 |
70,062 |
-35.3% |
|
DACIA LOGAN |
7,747 |
12,697 |
-39.0% |
36,819 |
75,858 |
-51.5% |
|
KIA CEED |
5,195 |
7,173 |
-27.6% |
26,950 |
29,502 |
-8.7% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF |
5,823 |
7,064 |
-17.6% |
25,104 |
26,428 |
-5.0% |
|
FORD FOCUS |
5,629 |
7,137 |
-21.1% |
22,090 |
33,983 |
-35.0% |
|
RENAULT MEGANE |
5,253 |
4,207 |
+24.9% |
21,288 |
21,018 |
+1.3% |
|
FIAT PUNTO CLASSIC |
7,994 |
486 |
+1544.9% |
19,946 |
1,447 |
+1278.4% |
|
RENAULT CLIO |
4,043 |
6,082 |
-33.5% |
18,887 |
32,604 |
-42.1% |
|
HYUNDAI i30 |
4,874 |
2,948 |
+65.3% |
17,513 |
12,456 |
+40.6% |
