Munich - Registrations of new passenger cars slumped further in Europe in June as rising inflation and soaring fuel prices kept consumers out of the showrooms, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, showed on Wednesday.
Registrations were down 7.9% on the year in June to 1.43m vehicles, a steeper decline than the 7.8% fall posted in May. In the first six months of this year, new registrations were down 2.2% compared with the same period last year at 8.33m passenger cars.
"Rising inflation and soaring fuel prices were among the main factors influencing new registrations," ACEA said.
The main European car markets continue to diverge the trade group said, with Germany and France still growing, up 3.6% and 4.5% respectively, and Spain and Italy declining fast, down 17.6% and 11.5% respectively.
The Western European market, an important source of sales and earnings for global automakers, contracted by 8.2% compared to June last year to 1.32m passenger cars. In the first six months, new car registrations in Western Europe were 2.7% lower compared with the same period in 2007 at 7.73m vehicles.
'Slumping demand in key markets'
Some of the world's top auto executives have recently been warning of a significant downturn extending into the second half of the year. Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of France's Renault and Japan's Nissan, has warned that his companies are unlikely to meet previously set sales targets due to slumping demand in key markets like Western Europe and the US.
The world's two biggest automakers by sales, Toyota and General Motors, were hit worst in Europe in June, with decreases of 18% and 13%, respectively. Toyota posted 68 961 new-car registrations in June compared with 145 947 for GM.
GM's Opel/Vauxhall brand posted a 14% fall to 120 280 cars in June while registrations for the Chevrolet brand - its sales growth driver in Europe - were down 7.5% on the year at 18 465 cars.
Europe's biggest automaker by sales, Volkswagen, saw European new registrations fall 6.1% on the year in June to 283 887 cars. Registrations for the company's core VW brand came in at 148 585 cars in June, down 5.2% on the year, while the troubled Spanish Seat brand saw a 15% decline to 32 061 cars.
Italy's biggest automaker, Fiat posted a 6.3% fall in June to 112 038 new-car registrations, while France's Renault and PSA Group saw registrations fall 5.6% and 9.7%, respectively, to 137 053 and 183 336 passenger cars.
Ford performed relatively well with new-car registrations at 142 203, up 0.8% compared with June last year, helped by a 1% rise at its core Ford brand.
The world's biggest premium automaker by sales, BMW, was the best-performing company in June with a 1.7% rise to 84 860 new-car registrations, helped by continuing strong demand for its compact Mini brand.
German peer Daimler in June posted a 6% fall on the year to 74 405 cars, in line with data reported by the company earlier this month.
- Dow Jones