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EU vehicle sales drop by 7.1 per cent over the last eight months

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported today that vehicle sales in the EU countries continue their downwards trend. The tendency is aggravating with new passenger car registrations down by 7.8 per cent in July and a further decline by 8.9 per cent in August 2012.

For the first eight month of this year, the overall decline totals 7.1 per cent with 8,268,642 new cars registered in the EU during this period.

The only country that recorded a positive trend in July was the UK with 143,884 new registrations accounting to a plus of 9.3 per cent. This is however contrasted with the general negative trend that ranges from -5.0 per cent in Germany to -17.2 and 21.0 percent in Spain and Italy respectively.

The trend is slightly more differentiated in August with Germany's demand down by 4.7 per cent, while France (-11.4 per cent) and Italy (-20.2 per cent) faced double-digit downturns. The Spanish market expanded by 3.4 per cent and the British remained stable.

Looking at the development between January and August 2012, the UK was the only market to post growth (+3.3 per cent), while Germany slipped by 0.6 per cent and Spain (-8.5 per cent), France (-13.4 per cent) and Italy (-19.9 per cent) recorded negative figures.

See below the developments by manufacturer:

Registratons by manufacturer

The overall trend in the EU in the first eight months of 2012 points clearly to a decline in demand for new passenger vehicles. However, when looking at the figures in detail and by manufacturer it becomes apparent that it is especially the economy and medium size segments that are hit hard, while the premium class remains relatively stable or even contradicts the trend.

Volkswagen Group

The Volkswagen Group, the world's second biggest manufacturer, had 2,052,495 new vehicles registered in the first eight months of 2012. This is a decline by 0.1% when compared to 2011. While Audi reports a plus by 5.2%, other brands suffer losses ranging from -2.4% for Volkswagen to -16.2% for SEAT.

PSA Group

The French PSA Group consisting of Peugeot and Citroen is heavily hit by the crisis. The group only sold 1,001,100 in 2012 so far, down 13.5 per cent compared to 2011. Especially Peugeot suffered, losing 14.6 per cent but Citroen is not trailing far behind with registrations down by 12.2 per cent.

Renault Group

Consisting of the Renault and Dacia brands, the group suffered a minus of 16.3 per cent as compared to the previous year. In 2012, 713,682 passenger cars of the mnufacturer were registered, Renault registered a decline by 19.8% while Dacia got away with a minus of just 1.3.

GM Group

The GM Group has been making headlines with the restructuring of Opel in Europe. The tough times are reflected in an overall minu of 11.9% when compared to the previous year. However, Opel accounts for the large decline with 15.4%, while Chevrolet is on the rise, posting a 7.5% growth until August.

Ford

Ford of Europe is another manufacturer hit hard by the crisis. 625,171 new Ford vehicles were registered in 2012 so far, less 12.3% than in 2011.

Fiat Group

As consequence of the low demand in Europe, Fiat already announced cuts in its production and a decline in registrations by 17.1% seems to justify that decision. While the traditional Fiat brands register strong declines in demand, the recently acquired Chrysler brands provide a counterbalance with Jeep growing by 24.6%.

BMW Group

The BMW Group counts on the premium and compact class and gets away with a relatively small minus when compared to other competitors. The decline totals 3.1% with BMW losing 3.0 and MINI 3.8 as compared to the first eight months of the previous year.

Daimler

Similar to BMW, the premium-oriented Daimler brands suffer only a relatively small loss when compared to the more economy brands. The decline in registration for the group figures at 2.7% with Mercedes losing 1.6% and smart suffering a sharp decline of 11.6%.

Toyota Group

The world's biggest car manufacturer is affected by the crisis, but not nearly as severely as the European manufacturers. The overall decline for the Toyota Group is at 1.0% with 345,203 new registrations. Toyota wis down by 1.6% while Lexus is on the rise with a plus of 12.5.

Nissan

Nissan sold 285,249 vehicles in the EU until August and suffered a moderate decline of 4.3 when compared to the previous year.

Hyundai

Hyundai is one of the few manufacturers to contradict the trend and stands out with a growth of 10.1%. Not surprising the European automakers feel threatened by their Korean counterparts.

Kia

Even better than Hyundai performs the fellow Korean Kia brand. The plus of 23.1% indicates that there is still a demand in the economy segment.

Volvo

Despite the good record when it comes to safety, Swedish premium brand is also feeling the squeeze with registrations down by 11.6% when compared to 2011.

Suzuki

Suzuki can not escape the crisis and suffers a decline of 10.8% in registrations over the first eight months of 2012.

Honda

Honda gets away with a more moderate decline of 5.8% until August.

Mazda

However Mazda suffers a minus of 10.9 in terms if new registrations in 2012.

Jaguar Land Rover

The premium group consisting of Jaguar and Land Rover is another example that it is not the pricy segments that suffer during the crisis. On the contrary, the group reports a plus of 35.5% compared to 2011, with Land Rover growing by 44.6% and Jaguar still by 6.4%.