Car replacements give hope
According to the ACEA (the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), 906,264 vehicles were registered in December in Europe: a 13.3 %
increase compared to December 2012, but still the third worst December ever.
ACEA believes there are three reasons for the increase: the improved economic situation (it seems the worst has passed), several brands dropped prices to limit the damage and the age of the cars. The average European car is – partly because of the crisis – some 7
to 8 years old, but now an increasing amount of people need to replace their car.
6th negative year in a row
Despite the growth in December, the whole of 2013 saw European
car sales drop 1.7 % compared to 2012. In total, some 11.85 million cars
were sold, the sixth year in a row the numbers dropped. That is mainly because large car-selling
countries have not performed well: Italy (-7.1 %), France (-5.7 %), and even
Germany (-4.2 %).
Great Britain showed the biggest increase (+10.2 %), with Spain catching up
again (+3.3 %). Belgian car sales remained pretty much level (-0.1 %), while the Dutch sector got took a beating of -17 %. The car sector there is counting on a
limited growth for 2014.
VW-group increases lead
German VW-group was the best-selling car group once again in 2013, thanks to good Seat (+11.3 %) and Skoda
(+4.2 %) numbers. Despite a small 0.6 % drop, the group (also owning Volkswagen
(-3.5 %) and Audi (-1.4 %)) increased its market share from 24.7 % to 25 %.
France takes spots 2 and 3: PSA
(Peugeot – Citroën) sold 8.4 % fewer cars, but stays ahead of competitor
Renault (which managed a 4.4 % growth thanks to its low-cost Romanian Dacia
brand). GM, which owns Opel, dropped 4.3 % and Ford lost 3.2 % and these brands
are Europe’s top 5.
When looking at luxury brands, Mercedes
triumphed with an increase of 5.3 %, even though BMW (-0.3 %) and Audi
(-1.4 %) are still ahead in absolute numbers. The lead is crumbling though…
(Translated by Gary Peeters)
