No spring growth as new car sales stall in April
European new car sales have experienced a significant slide in April, down 6.7%, according to the latest monthly analysis from the world’s leading provider of automotive intelligence, JATO Dynamics.
In a marked contrast to a buoyant March, the end of scrappage incentive schemes is starting to be felt in key markets across Europe. In particular, monthly sales in Italy have now slipped into the red, as the deadline for registrations under its scrappage scheme has now passed. The Italian market joins Germany in experiencing lower sales vs. April 2009, an indication of cooling demand for new cars in post-scrappage markets.
Against this backdrop, the Volkswagen Golf has climbed once again back to the top of the best-seller chart, with the Ford Fiesta suffering a marked drop in sales in Germany, Italy and the UK, a performance which contributed to Ford dropping to fourth overall in Europe’s best-selling brands.
Commenting, David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult states: “This was inevitable and is a shift in fortune for some of the big markets, now stripped of their government incentives. The effect of this on overall European new car sales is clear and we will progressively see the extent to which European sales have been underpinned by scrappage. Looking at the bigger picture, wider economic uncertainties across the Eurozone will do nothing to stimulate consumer demand in the months ahead and we expect this combination of factors to force a continued slide in overall new car sales.”
Brand Performance
April’s biggest winners were Renault and Peugeot, with the French brands doing well in their still-growing home market and in Spain.
The effects of these rising sales were magnified by the relatively poor performance of key rivals, many of whom are more dependent on Germany, Italy and UK for sales.
Ford has been the greatest casualty of this shift in sales, dropping to fourth place in the brand table for April, although it remains second in year-to-date sales.
Model Performance
Renault’s success has been driven mostly by Clio sales, which rose particularly in France (up 63.7%), although Mégane also returned strong sales in secondary Western European markets, such as Belgium.
National rival Peugeot also performed strongly at home, augmented by strong sales in Spain, for both 308 and 207 (up 37.1% and 65.2%, respectively).
Fiesta – which benefitted from strong Italy and UK sales in March – suffered as sales in these markets dipped, allowing Golf to take back the European top spot.
National Trends
Across Europe, year-to-date sales are now only 5.9% ahead of 2009, having dropped behind 2009 by 6.7%, for the month of April. Even those major markets still growing are doing so at a slower rate since the end of key scrappage schemes.
Just one month before, in March 2010, Italy registered 258,821 sales, 62% more than in April.
Poor April sales have also had an impact on Italy’s year-to-date performance vs. 2009, which is now running at 13.2%, compared to 23.3% for the year to March 2010.
Germany remains Europe’s largest market, but has now declined 25.5% of sales year-to-date, vs. 2009.