Car sales in Western Europe fell by 3.9% in November according to data issued by LMC Automotive.
LMC said that the Western Europe market has again struggled compared to year-ago figures, with the uncertainty surrounding the eurozone debt crisis clearly having an impact.
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The UK-based automotive forecasters have also made a significant downward revision to their Western Europe car market forecast for 2012 as economic growth projections are revised down. A 5% car market decline in 2012, to 12.15m units, is now projected.
Car sales in Germany were up by 2.5% in November — the year-to-date market was up by 9%. The German market will close at around 3.2m units for 2011, a significant improvement over the previous year, LMC said.
French sales compared poorly to a year ago, with the latter part of last year seeing a boost as the government scrappage scheme was drawing to a close. The Seasonally Adjusted Annualised Rate (SAAR) of sales is holding up relatively well at the moment though, LMC said.
The same cannot be said for Italy and Spain where selling rates look desperately weak. The UK was down 4.2%, with a selling rate of 1.95m units/year.
LMC said that comparing the West European car market for November 2011 to a year ago highlights that it continues to face tough times.
For more on this: ANALYSIS: LMC Automotive revises 2012 WE market forecast down
