European Vehicle Sales Falter Again in January

PARIS – Car dealers in Europe suffered their worst January since 1990 when the ACEA auto makers’ group was formed, with sales down 8.7% to 885,159 units.

The only major market that grew was the U.K., up 11.5% and again the second-largest market, moving ahead of France. Spain, traditionally one of the five largest European markets, dropped to sixth place, passed by Belgium.

Southern European countries again were hit hardest by the European recession. Vehicle deliveries in Greece tumbled 34.5% from like-2012 for the biggest decline; Italy’s 17.6% drop was the greatest among large markets; Spain’s volume was down 9.6%; and Portugal, where sales have fallen by half since 2010, saw a 0.7% uptick in January.

However, the Portuguese auto association ACAP says the tiny gain is not really a sign of hope.

“This year again, many businesses will close since the government has rejected our proposal for a new bonus for trading in old cars,” says Helder Barata Pedro, ACAP’s secretary general. In 2012, 2,500 dealers, repair shops and factories closed, causing 21,000 lost jobs.

Europe has not seen a monthly increase in car registrations since September 2011, and the region has not had a growth year since the record 2007 that saw 16 million vehicles registered. Last year’s total was just 12 million.

January 2013 registrations plummeted 29.9% from January 2007, the start of Europe’s benchmark year. Greece fell 82.5% and Spain and Italy were down more than half. Only five small markets exceeded their 2007 level.

The recession slowed January sales by all of Europe’s volume manufacturers. Ford posted the biggest decline, 25.5%, followed by PSA Peugeot Citroen (16.3%), Fiat (12.3%), Renault (5.6%), General Motors (5.5%) and Volkswagen (5.2%).

Daimler, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover deliveries rose last month, continuing a trend wherein high-end consumers are not financially squeezed like the rest of the population. Importers Kia, Honda and Mazda also saw gains for the month, but Hyundai suffered a 2.0% decline.

Only six brands did better in January 2013 than in January 2007: Dacia (up 401%), Nissan (48.4%), Kia (39.2%), Land Rover (35%), Hyundai (23.5%) and Smart (12.6%).

Renault, PSA, Fiat, GM and Ford deliveries in Europe all tumbled more than 40% last month compared with January 2007, and all have lost share since then. While Volkswagen sales fell 9.7% from January 2007, the auto maker gained market share in the region over that period.