The European new car market last month experienced its worst start to a year since 2009 as economic uncertainty continued across the eurozone, according to analysts at UK-based JATO Dynamics.
There were four key trends: The market declined by 7.1% in January; a combined fall in sales in France and Italy resulted in a decrease of 66,481 units; sales in Germany and the UK remained level with last year; and Spain recorded a slight increase.
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Only three of the top 10 brands increased sales in January and three of the top 10 models recorded an increase.
Within the top 10 brands, German manufacturers carried over their strong performance from last year into 2012 with Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes increasing sales, while French and Italian brands suffered from a decline in new car sales within their domestic markets.
Outside the top 10, Lexus sales grew 136.2% higher than January 2011 thanks to strong sales of the CT200h small premium hybrid model. Land Rover sales were up 50.7%, bolstered by the new Range Rover Evoque, while Kia continued to gain market share, up 33.3% with sales of the new Rio supermini increasing by over 5,000 units compared to its predecessor last year.
Volkswagen’s Golf and Polo took first and second place in the top 10 models sold in Europe, despite the latter experiencing a decrease of 11.3% in January. Ford’s Fiesta and Focus also started the year strongly, taking third and fourth places, respectively, in January with Focus sales up 7.3% year on year. Skoda’s Octavia recorded sales 22.1% higher than in January 2011, securing a place in the top 10 for the first time.
Gareth Hession, who heads research at JATO, said: “The significant decline in sales in France and Italy is worrying for the brands local to these markets but new products such as Fiat’s Panda and Peugeot’s 208 are likely to improve their competitiveness in the coming year.”
“The cold weather and continued economic turmoil across Europe will likely impact the new car market in February. It will, however, be interesting to see how sales in the Baltic and central Eastern European regions are affected, as up until now that they have experienced sales increases each month.”
Sales by Market
|
Country |
Jan_12 |
Jan_11 |
% Change Jan |
Jan YtD_12 |
Jan YtD_11 |
% Change YtD |
|
Austria |
26,826 |
25,584 |
+4.9% |
26,826 |
25,584 |
+4.9% |
|
Belgium |
44,732 |
53,236 |
-16.0% |
44,732 |
53,236 |
-16.0% |
|
Croatia |
3,488 |
3,317 |
+5.2% |
3,488 |
3,317 |
+5.2% |
|
Cyprus* |
1,153 |
1,273 |
-9.4% |
1,153 |
1,273 |
-9.4% |
|
Czech Republic |
12,921 |
11,678 |
+10.6% |
12,921 |
11,678 |
+10.6% |
|
Denmark |
12,766 |
12,377 |
+3.1% |
12,766 |
12,377 |
+3.1% |
|
Estonia* |
1,483 |
1,323 |
+12.1% |
1,483 |
1,323 |
+12.1% |
|
Finland |
14,232 |
13,786 |
+3.2% |
14,232 |
13,786 |
+3.2% |
|
France |
147,057 |
185,521 |
-20.7% |
147,057 |
185,521 |
-20.7% |
|
Germany |
210,195 |
211,056 |
-0.4% |
210,195 |
211,056 |
-0.4% |
|
Great Britain |
128,853 |
128,811 |
+0.0% |
128,853 |
128,811 |
+0.0% |
|
Greece |
8,405 |
9,736 |
-13.7% |
8,405 |
9,736 |
-13.7% |
|
Hungary |
4,980 |
3,446 |
+44.5% |
4,980 |
3,446 |
+44.5% |
|
Iceland |
320 |
197 |
+62.4% |
320 |
197 |
+62.4% |
|
Ireland |
21,313 |
20,999 |
+1.5% |
21,313 |
20,999 |
+1.5% |
|
Italy |
138,056 |
166,073 |
-16.9% |
138,056 |
166,073 |
-16.9% |
|
Latvia |
882 |
732 |
+20.5% |
882 |
732 |
+20.5% |
|
Lithuania |
1,008 |
846 |
+19.1% |
1,008 |
846 |
+19.1% |
|
Luxembourg |
3,649 |
3,353 |
+8.8% |
3,649 |
3,353 |
+8.8% |
|
Norway |
10,860 |
10,400 |
+4.4% |
10,860 |
10,400 |
+4.4% |
|
Poland* |
21,700 |
18,957 |
+14.5% |
21,700 |
18,957 |
+14.5% |
|
Portugal |
6,949 |
13,225 |
-47.5% |
6,949 |
13,225 |
-47.5% |
|
Romania |
3,475 |
4,399 |
-21.0% |
3,475 |
4,399 |
-21.0% |
|
Serbia |
1,409 |
1,419 |
-0.7% |
1,409 |
1,419 |
-0.7% |
|
Slovakia |
4,802 |
4,424 |
+8.5% |
4,802 |
4,424 |
+8.5% |
|
Slovenia |
5,011 |
5,427 |
-7.7% |
5,011 |
5,427 |
-7.7% |
|
Spain |
54,966 |
53,805 |
+2.2% |
54,966 |
53,805 |
+2.2% |
|
Sweden |
18,686 |
19,244 |
-2.9% |
18,686 |
19,244 |
-2.9% |
|
Switzerland |
23,221 |
20,551 |
+13.0% |
23,221 |
20,551 |
+13.0% |
|
The Netherlands |
70,416 |
74,782 |
-5.8% |
70,416 |
74,782 |
-5.8% |
|
Grand Total |
1,003,814 |
1,079,977 |
-7.1% |
1,003,814 |
1,079,977 |
-7.1% |
* Denotes estimated data used for January 2012
NB. Please note that new car sales data from Croatia, Serbia and Romania is now included.
Top 10 Brands
|
Make |
Jan_12 |
Jan_11 |
% Change Jan |
Jan YtD_12 |
Jan YtD_11 |
% Change YtD |
|
VOLKSWAGEN |
129,036 |
128,985 |
+0.0% |
129,036 |
128,985 |
+0.0% |
|
FORD |
83,824 |
87,126 |
-3.8% |
83,824 |
87,126 |
-3.8% |
|
PEUGEOT |
67,616 |
79,599 |
-15.1% |
67,616 |
79,599 |
-15.1% |
|
RENAULT |
64,354 |
89,395 |
-28.0% |
64,354 |
89,395 |
-28.0% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL |
57,700 |
72,896 |
-20.8% |
57,700 |
72,896 |
-20.8% |
|
CITROEN |
57,100 |
65,758 |
-13.2% |
57,100 |
65,758 |
-13.2% |
|
AUDI |
51,350 |
48,063 |
+6.8% |
51,350 |
48,063 |
+6.8% |
|
FIAT |
48,731 |
59,726 |
-18.4% |
48,731 |
59,726 |
-18.4% |
|
TOYOTA |
44,394 |
51,253 |
-13.4% |
44,394 |
51,253 |
-13.4% |
|
MERCEDES |
44,133 |
40,771 |
+8.2% |
44,133 |
40,771 |
+8.2% |
Top 10 Models
|
Make & Model |
Jan_12 |
Jan_11 |
% Change Jan |
Jan YtD_12 |
Jan YtD_11 |
% Change YtD |
|
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF |
36,799 |
36,963 |
-0.4% |
36,799 |
36,963 |
-0.4% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN POLO |
25,895 |
29,179 |
-11.3% |
25,895 |
29,179 |
-11.3% |
|
FORD FIESTA |
23,870 |
27,366 |
-12.8% |
23,870 |
27,366 |
-12.8% |
|
FORD FOCUS |
22,316 |
20,794 |
+7.3% |
22,316 |
20,794 |
+7.3% |
|
RENAULT CLIO |
18,674 |
25,946 |
-28.0% |
18,674 |
25,946 |
-28.0% |
|
PEUGEOT 207 |
18,325 |
21,026 |
-12.8% |
18,325 |
21,026 |
-12.8% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT |
17,694 |
15,337 |
+15.4% |
17,694 |
15,337 |
+15.4% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA |
17,153 |
20,933 |
-18.1% |
17,153 |
20,933 |
-18.1% |
|
NISSAN QASHQAI |
16,881 |
17,145 |
-1.5% |
16,881 |
17,145 |
-1.5% |
|
SKODA OCTAVIA |
16,565 |
13,566 |
+22.1% |
16,565 |
13,566 |
+22.1% |
All data from JATO Dynamics
