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The European new car market is showing no signs
of recovery, according to a survey by JATO Dynamics. Sales have
plunged to 26 per cent less than the same month a year ago, a loss
of 335,364 vehicles to a total of monthly total of 954,234 units.
“Nobody in the industry is surprised at what we’re witnessing
across the European market, but the in the cold light of day, the
raw figures do paint a very bleak picture”, says David Di
Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult. “There are few high spots to
focus on, but we can see that successful new model launches do
seem to deliver a very welcome shot in the arm for the market. The
new XF has achieved for Jaguar with a 35.5 per cent improvement in
sales".
Describing the current situation as a buyers
market, and that the purchasers are looking for the best deals on
the best cars, David explains that Volkswagen was once again
Europe’s top-selling car brand in January 2009, ahead of Ford,
Peugeot, Opel/Vauxhall and Fiat. The Volkswagen Golf maintained
its stranglehold on the European new car market in January 2009,
increasing its share of the market when compared to January 2008
despite lower sales. The Golf led the Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207,
Ford Focus, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Fiat Panda, Audi
A4, Fiat Punto and Renault Clio.
Other models recording an increase in sales
over January 2008 include the hugely popular new Fiat 500 (up 5.9
per cent), Nissan Qashqai (up 2.8 per cent, additional “+2”
versions), Peugeot 107 (up 11.5 per cent), Volkswagen Tiguan (up
62.1per cent, greater availability) and Honda Jazz (up 28.7 per
cent, new model). Interestingly, the French market was least
affected by the downturn, with only a 7.9 per cent drop in new car
registrations. In contrast, Iceland saw a reduction in
registrations of 88.1 per cent.
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