New car sales dropped by eight per cent in Europe in May compared to the same period last year. But it was not all gloom: BMW and Toyota improved their market share.
New car sales dropped by eight per cent in Europe in May compared to the same period last year. But it was not all gloom: BMW and Toyota improved their market share.
The fall in May sales was the largest monthly drop in more than a year.
According to the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, sales fell by 14 per cent in Germany, 11 per cent in Italy and 8,6 per cent in France. Only the United Kingdom and Finland did not have a decrease in sales. Britain’s sales were up 5,1 per cent in May and up 8,2 percent in the first five months of the year.
"Strong internal demand continues to characterise the UK, while good performances were also posted by two smaller markets, Denmark and Finland," the ACEA said. "All the other countries reported decreases, ranging from minus 3 percent in Ireland to minus 18,7 percent in Greece."
The actual number of sales in May was 1 287 921 units in western Europe and 1 249 766 in the EU.
Fiat had the biggest decline in May, falling 22,6 per cent from a year earlier, while General Motors saw sales drop 7,3 per cent as demand for its Opel model slowed down in Germany. Volkswagen lost 9,6 per cent and Ford fell 7,9 per cent.
Some manufacturers did well. BMW gained 10, 9 per cent in May. This was due to demand for the new Mini. Toyota’s sales were up 20,3 per cent (this includes sales for Lexus).