8:08 am, July 17, 2013
WITH demand falling to 1.134 million vehicles, new car sales in Europe suffered their worst June since 1996, with a 5.6 per cent fall.
The carmakers’ body, ACEA said results brought sales for the first half of the year down to 6.206 million cars, recording a 6.6 per cent slump.
These figures affect the 27 countries in the European Union plus those in the European Free Trade Association.
The UK was the only major car market to see an improvement, with sales up 13.4 per cent in June and 10 per cent for the first six months.
Due to austerity measures and cases of unemployment, consumer spending has slowed. With sales falling to a 17-year low, European carmakers cut both their prices and manufacturing capacity, but have failed to stabilise the decline.
Between January and June, sales in Germany fell by 8.1 per cent from a year earlier and in France, sales were down 11.2 per cent. Meanwhile, Spanish sales decreased by 4.9 per cent and Italy suffered a decline of 10.3 per cent.
French manufacturer Peugeot was one of the main carmakers to take the largest hit last month. After cutting 8,000 jobs and closing a factory in France, sales fell by 9.3 per cent.
Carmakers with the most improved sale figures last month included Seat, with sales up by 12.2 per cent and Renault-owned Dacia with a 17 per cent increase.
In the luxury car sector, Mercedes saw a two per cent monthly gain, while BMW fell 7.7 per cent and VW’s Audi saw a 8.9 per cent decline.
