European new car sales show signs of recovery in July but remain down year-to-date

August 20, 2013: According to the latest new car sales analysis from JATO Dynamics, the leading global provider of automotive intelligence, Europe’s new car market experienced a 4.9percent increase in sales in July, with 48,202 more new cars sold in July 2013 compared to July 2012. Overall, the market remains behind 2012 performance, down by 5.2percent year-to-date.

Highlights:

? Four of the ‘Big Five’ markets were up in July (Italy posted a 1.8% decrease) but only Great Britain remains up year-to-date

? Six of the top 10 manufacturers recorded an increase last month and three of those six experienced more than a 10percent rise in sales compared to July last year

? Volkswagen remains Europe’s best-selling brand in July and also takes first and second spot in Europe’s top ten models for the month with Golf and Polo respectively

Out of the ‘Big Five’ markets, Italy was the only country to experience a decrease in sales in July, with a drop of 1.8percent. While the other ‘Big Five’ markets were up for the month, Great Britain was the only market to post an increase for year-to-date figures; 124,287 more new cars have been sold in Great Britain than during the same period in 2012, representing a 10.3percent increase.

France, Germany and Italy, however, all remain down by a considerable amount on 2012. Year-to-date, France is down 9.7percent, Germany 6.7percent and Italy 9.3percent on the same period in 2012. Combined, these three countries have sold 328,818 fewer cars than in 2012 (the European year-to-date total is down by 412,335 units).

Making a significant improvement in July was Spain, which registered 10,763 more new cars in July 2013 than in July 2012. The 16.5percent increase is welcome news and Spain is now just 1.3percent down year-to-date 2013 compared to 2012.

Following last month, Ireland’s first ever mid-year numberplate change has had the expected result, with sales increasing 163.2percent over July 2012.

Sales by Market



NOTE: * denotes estimated volumes for July 2013

Volkswagen led the top 10 manufacturers table this month, despite recording the largest fall in sales in the top 10 for 2013 year-to-date. Volkswagen sales are down 6.9percent (69,872 units) so far this year compared to the same period in 2012.

The largest year-to-date percentage decrease however was reported by Citroen, down by 14.1percent (62,219 units) compared to the same period in 2012 and by 2.7percent (1,445 units) versus July 2012.

Of the top 10 manufacturers, BMW, Ford and Mercedes all posted increases of over 10percent in monthly sales compared to 2012. Ford was up 10.4percent, BMW 13.2percent, and Mercedes 15.0percent. Within the top 10, only Mercedes posted increases for both monthly and year-to-date figures; up by 3.7percent (13,341 units) year-to-date.

Top 10 Brands



Volkswagen led the top 10 European models for July with the Golf and Polo taking first and second place. That said, the Polo has seen a fall in sales this year, reporting an 11.3percent drop over the same period last year. So far this year 21,115 fewer Volkswagen Polo’s have been sold compared to 2012.

However, the largest decrease in the top 10 was experienced by the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, selling 22,791 fewer units (15.7percent decrease) in 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. The Opel/Vauxhall Corsa also saw a drop in sales, with 18,510 fewer units sold (11.1percent decrease) over the same period, leaving it in ninth position this month.

BMW are enjoying success with the latest-generation 3-Series, selling 48.0percent more units in July 2013 compared to July 2012. The boost in July sales helped year-to-date figures record a 17.1percent increase over 2012.

Gareth Hession, vice-president of research at JATO Dynamics, commented: “This month has shown a real mix of fortunes. Volkswagen led both manufacturer and model tables this month but has seen an overall fall in sales. Four of the ‘Big Five’ countries have increased sales figures for July but only Great Britain has increased year-to-date. The positive signs are promising to see, but many markets and manufacturers remain down year-to-date as a whole.”

Top 10 Models



NOTE: Percentage changes for the Peugeot 208 are not representative due to the new model’s introduction in 2012 and have therefore been removed from the table

Data source: JATO Dynamics