IHS Automotive has said that there was a ‘somewhat alarming’ one-off decline in sales momentum in the Western European passenger car market during March, although this can be partly explained by a high base of comparison in some major markets.
The analysts at IHS estimate that the market was down by 5.1% on last year to 1.53m units. It said that the significant declines witnessed in Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom overrode the gains seen in France and Germany, which have shown reasonably robust organic growth since the beginning of the year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The company noted that although there are some pockets of growth—notably in Germany and Scandinavia—there are still significant macroeconomic pressures on the Western European passenger car market. However, there should be some stabilisation in some major markets in the second half of the year and IHS Automotive is still forecasting a stagnant full-year market at just over 13m units.
IHS also noted that the Western European market appears to be developing along the lines of a two-speed economy, with the likes of Germany managing to generate strong economic growth, while there are other pockets of regional growth such as Scandinavia. However, high levels of public debt and austerity measures that are being employed to combat large deficits are having a negative effect on economic growth and consumer and business confidence in the likes of Italy, Spain, and the UK.
The German passenger car market posted another robust increase in March with a rise in sales volumes of 11% y/y to 327,921 units, according to the latest set of data released by the German government’s Kraftfahrt Bundesamt (KBA) vehicle registration agency. For the year to date (YTD), sales are up 13.9% y/y at 763,403 units, demonstrating the consistent accelerated growth that has been a feature of the market in the early months of the year.
IHS said that Germany’s leading passenger car manufacturer, Volkswagen (VW), generated only modest growth during March, despite ongoing strong demand for the new Passat and the facelifted version of the Tiguan sport utility vehicle (SUV). Opel and Ford were the big movers in terms of growth, posting increases of 15.8% and 22.7% y/y, respectively.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
