Europe Car Sales Fall 2.6 pct. in Sept

Renault and GM lost the most ground as new-car sales in Europe fell 2.6 percent in September, though Fiat, Toyota, BMW and Volkswagen saw sales grow, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association ACEA said Friday.

France's Renault SA saw the largest drop, slipping 14.9 percent in September compared with the same month last year. It sold 104,815 cars in Europe in September.

Detroit-based General Motors Corp. sold 9.1 percent fewer cars at 141,551.

Sales of PSA Peugeot Citroen SA cars fell 4 percent, while DaimlerChrysler AG only slipped slightly with a 1 percent decline with flatter sales of Mercedes and a sharp drop at its Smart car unit. Ford Motor Co. was down just 0.5 percent, selling more Ford models and fewer Volvos, Land Rovers and Jaguars.

However, other carmakers have made headway.

Europe's largest car company, Volkswagen AG, saw sales rise 2.9 percent to just over a quarter of a million units thanks to better sales of its Audi and Skoda models. It now controls close to a fifth of the European market.

Italy's Fiat SpA saw sales surge 14.9 percent compared with a year ago. Its core Fiat and luxury Alfa Romeo cars proved more popular although Lancia sales were down. The company ended 17 successive quarterly losses by reporting higher profits in the final quarter of last year.

Sales of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. gained 11.8 percent, while Germany's BMW AG rose 2.5 percent. Nissan Motor Co. fell 27.1 percent to 32,485 units.

In Western Europe, new car sales only increased in Germany, by 4.5 percent, as Europe's largest economy _ and second-biggest car buyer _ finally went shopping after years of little growth.

Car sales dropped 13.3 percent in France, Europe's fourth-largest car market, and by 3.2 percent in Italy. Britain, the biggest purchaser of new cars, saw sales fall just 0.7 percent to 413,991.

ACEA's figures count sales from the 25 nations of the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Some 1.406 million cars were sold in the region in September, the group said, down from 1.444 million in the same month last year.

Some 56,446 cars were sold in the 10 nations _ mostly Eastern European _ that joined the EU in 2004.

The fast-growing Baltic states host the few booming European car salesrooms, even though overall sales are low. New car sales rocketed 52.4 percent in Latvia, 46.4 percent in Lithuania and 9.7 percent in Estonia. Polish sales also went up 11.4 percent while Hungary dropped 15.1 percent.




Read Article

1970toyotamarc - 10/16/2006 3:47:39 PM

+1 Boost

Toyota had some of the best sales gains in Europe.

I thought Europeans were so smart and auto savvy; will only accept Euro diesels and BMW handling; that Toyotas are too fat and boring; they're designed for fat, lazy, stupid Americans. Have I pretty much summed up every other Autospies post from the past 2 years? And yet month after month, when sales figures are released, the Toyota juggernaut just keeps rolling along.

Reality is such a sweet thing sometimes.

DarkOneForce - 10/16/2006 5:25:39 PM

+1 Boost

And those sales come from diesels.
For example the best sold Lexus by far is the IS 220D (Corolla engine).

S4cabriofox - 10/16/2006 6:01:17 PM

+1 Boost

And yet, VW has made sales gains, too.

Rupert - 10/16/2006 6:15:40 PM

+1 Boost

and we get 1 american toyota that is unchanged, all ours are very different fromm yours.
the rav 4 is several inches shorter here, no 7 seat and no v6, the yaris is hatch only and againt shorter, corolla hatch only and ours was mistaken by autospies users for the next gen corolla (it is VERY different to yours), we don't get the camry, we get a land cruiser which is based of a 4runner, we get the previa, but nearly all (if not all) cars here have different suspension/steering set-ups to american cars.
the only unchanged one is the Land cruiser, and we call it the land cuiser amazon.
and i think the new yaris and rav-4 will have helped the slaes figures, as the grande putno and new alfas have helped fiat's.
toyota's diesels are quite good i hear, they have utilised d4-d technonlogy well.

did anyone read that vw ag controls 1/5 of the whole European market?

Rupert - 10/16/2006 6:20:26 PM

+1 Boost

hey i didn't know this!
"Britain, the biggest purchaser of new cars"

i had no idea.

Agent009 - 10/17/2006 9:11:49 AM

+1 Boost

Toyota has a market wherever it goes. But Toyota is not the answer for everybody. Every dog has it's day, and now it is Toyota. Remember GM used to be top dog too, and look where they are now.

JUGNU - 10/16/2006 4:37:01 PM

+1 Boost

I agree with u 1970Toyotamark.

let us listen to what the japo-bashers say.

JUGNU

S4cabriofox - 10/16/2006 11:09:40 PM

+1 Boost

And you're a Euro-basher.

It's all relative.

Rupert - 10/17/2006 6:34:43 AM

+1 Boost

cadillac, chrysler, buick, pontiac, chevvy, america ford (we don't get any american fords here), we either get none of those cars or get cars that were more specifically designed for our market (the cts notably).

"Again, Europe is the last safe haven for those who refuse to change."
america never changes! everything matthew said is true (below). america sticks with a formula and then doesn';t do anything for the future, it always happened in history and today, gm and ford are too complacent (ie not raising fuel economy in the 70s, along comes honda, only having good suvs today, then along come smaller, better cars and people switch to them). european cars have changed their image and ethos to stay active in todays market, renault pioneered safety and now i believe all its cars are 5* Encap rated, this is a selling point, as are its interiors, which are class leading.

why should renault/PSA expand to america, none of their cars suit your market. you don't like small, well crafted cars. and you wouldn't be prepared to spend 14000 dollars on a clio.
i don't think any american cars companies are good enough for europe.

Matthew1 - 10/17/2006 5:02:02 AM

+2 Boost

"Europe is the last safe haven for those who refuse to change."

Gee, I'd hate to think what that makes America...

Europe has shunned petrol, big displacement, push-rods, leaf springs, poor quality and generic design for fuel-efficient, high-performance diesels, smaller cars with daring designs, interiors with upmarket materials and handling which is both fun and safe.

They keep churning out small hatches with enough power and handling to outrun larger, more powerful sports saloons, while being much more economical, and are leading the way in bio-ethanol technology, which to many is seen as a intelligent solution to oil dependency without resorting to fun-sapping electric cars.

Maybe you have never driven a European car? You don't know what you are missing.

Oh and breakdowns? Not any more.

Oh and Rupert, the new Grande Punto is a very classy car. Solid as a rock, doors that 'thunk' an interior which feels vault-like in its construction, and mini-Maserati looks.

Rupert - 10/17/2006 6:23:19 AM

+1 Boost

the grande punto is a HUGE improvement of the old punto. better interior, better engines, it has transformed fiat's fortunes.
and it looks like a maserati, so that is pretty cool.

Rupert - 10/17/2006 11:01:41 AM

+1 Boost

because it was devolped with mercedes' help and uses vw engines.