European Auto Sales Fall to Lowest Level Since 1996 in June

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association revealed that car sales in June were 1,134,042 cars, down 5.6% from June 2012. It was the worst June for EU auto sales since 1996. For the first half fo the year, 6,204,990 cars have been sold in the EU, down 6.6% from the first six months of 2012. It is the lowest first half year car sales since 1993.

"Even if there is a recovery in the second half of the year, it's hard to see how it could be strong enough to offset the bad results we've registered so far this year," said Quynh-Nhu Huynh, the ACEA's economics director.

The UK was the only major market to sell more cars in June 2013 than the previous June; its sales were up 13.4%. In the rest of the major markets Spain was down 0.7%, Germany down 4.7%, Italy down 5.5% and France down 8.4%. 

For the first six months of the year, the UK was also the only major market to grow; it had 10% growth. Spain was down 4.9%, Germany down 8.1%, Italy down 10.3% and France down 11.2%. 

Industry executives are predicting the market to continue to fall through 2015. The executives at PSA and Renault predict a 5% reduction in sales this year. Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn says that he does not see the market coming back until 2015 because of low consumer demand. BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer is slightly more optimistic; he believes that the Western European market will come back in the middle of next year. 

Source: Automotive News Europe