Car sales in Europe hit record low in June


07/17/2019

After a slight increase in May, car sales in Europe showed a fall of 7.8%. This is a record decline since December last year. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), 1,446,183 vehicles were sold in the EU in June. The association explained this fall mainly by the fact that in June of this year there were fewer working days compared with June of the previous year - 19 against 21.



RL GNZLZ
Experts believe that such a significant decline in auto sales in the EU is caused by deeper factors - lower consumer confidence amid growing uncertainty in economic stability due to trade wars, continuing uncertainty around Brexit, tougher environmental requirements of European regulators. Back in May, the German Automotive Research Center warned that global demand for new cars for the year could decline by 5%.

The fall in sales in June is traced in all key EU markets, most noticeably in France - by 8.4% and in Spain - by 8.3%. As for individual manufacturers, sales of the Volkswagen Group decreased by 9.5%, PSA Group - by 8%, FCA Group - by 13.6%, Renault - by 3.6%. The only automaker whose car sales grew, albeit slightly, in June was the Toyota Group (1.9%), with high demand for Lexus (+ 7.2%).

Summing up the results of the half year, ACEA also notes a drop in sales compared to the same period in 2018 - by 3.1%. In just the first six months of 2019, 8.2 million cars were sold in the EU. 

source: acea.be