There is a little good news and a lot of bad news for March sales according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) sales. Sales hit a record high for the year so far of 1,307,107 units in March, but that is 10.2% lower than auto sales in March 2012. It marks the 18th consecutive drop in sales. 

The ACEA has shown 2,989,486 units sold in Europe in the first quarter of 2013, which is 9.8% lower than the first quarter of 2012. 

The UK remains the most successful European market. Sales in March grew by 5.9% and have grown 7.4% in the first quarter.

The rest of the major European auto markets showed major losses. For March, Italy was down 4.9%, Spain was down 13.9%, France was down 16.2% and Germany was down 17.1%.

In the first quarter, Spanish auto sales were down 11.5%, German sales were down 12.9%, Italian sales were down 13% and French sales were down 14.6%. 

March was the second consecutive month of double-digit drops in auto sales compared to the same month in the previous year. The European auto market downturn might actually be getting worse. 

The ACEA shows that sales have fallen for the past 18 months

© photo by ACEA, licence: Attribution