European sales inch upwards

Some of Europe’s "basket case" economies have helped carmakers to post their ninth straight month of improved sales in May.

But while the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) confirmed yesterday that Europeans bought 1,093,448 cars in May, it also cautioned that it was the second worst May figure recorded since it began auditing car sales records in 2003.

The ACEA’s figures represented a 4.5 per cent rise on the shocking May 2013 data and have helped the Continent record 6.9 per cent growth for the year to date (May), with 5,431,921 cars sold. Volkswagen remains the biggest brand followed by Ford and Opel.

Germany is still the biggest market on the continent, however, some of Europe’s most maligned economies were responsible for the biggest percentage rises in May including Iceland (51.3 per cent above May 2013), Greece (42 per cent), Romania (46.1 per cent), Portugal (36 per cent) and Cyprus (24.2 per cent).

Iceland, Greece and Cyprus all applied for bailout funds from the European Union at the height of the Global Financial Crisis, while speculation persists in European financial circles that Portugal still may.

But Portugal’s boom hasn’t just lasted a month. It’s lasted all year, with the country recording 42 per cent sales growth, with 60,041 cars sold to the end of May. It’s growth rate heads fellow financial cripples Iceland, with 32.3 per cent growth to 4412 cars, and Ireland, with 24.1 per cent growth to 64,031 cars.

The poorest performers in May included Austria, which dumped 7.2 per cent of its May 2013 sales to have one of its worst May sales figures in modern history (just 26,986 cars). Italy’s troubled market fell another 3.8 per cent and Belgium’s dropped 3.5.

Of the EU’s larger economies, another financial basket case, Spain, headed the May growth rates at 16.9 per cent (jumping from 70,546 cars to 82,483), consistent with its 16.3 per cent rise to sell 364,784 cars to the end of May.

Poland (up 22.8 per cent), Sweden (up 16 per cent) and the UK (up 11.6 per cent) continue to surge and, as the EU’s second biggest market, the UK’s 1,058,974 cars to the end of May have helped drive the entire market forward.

While Volkswagen has continued its number one spot, its market share to the end of May slipped from 12.6 to 12.2 per cent of the European new car market, largely due to the changeover cycles of the Polo and the Golf Plus (Sportsvan).

Still, don’t cry too much for the Wolfsburg giant, because its 139,300 sales in the EU in May dwarf the 80,764 cars sold by the next best, Ford.

While Ford’s May sales were two per cent down on 2013, it is still 8.8 per cent up on year-to-date sales, just ahead of Opel, Renault and Peugeot.

The premium German brands continue to wreak havoc by taking the richer model mixes away from Europe’s volume players, with Audi the sixth-biggest seller in Europe to the end of May, BMW seventh and Mercedes-Benz tenth.

The most improved title belonged to Jeep, whose sales blasted forward by 100.3 per cent in May and boosted its year-to-date numbers by 39 per cent.

Dacia’s march continued, too, jumping 25.1 per cent in May, while Mazda grew 36.6 per cent, Mitsubishi climbed 38.3 percent and Lexus continued its strong year with 36.6 per cent growth in May.

The Italian brands reflect the sales problems in their home market, with Alfa Romeo losing 19.3 per cent in May (down more than 10 per cent this year), while Fiat dropped 4.2 per cent in May.

The only other major brands in negative territory in May were MINI (in a full cycle changeover of the mainstay hatch, which almost half of its volume) down 17.3 per cent, smart down 17 per cent as the fortwo’s cycle draws to an end, Lancia (which is more or less irrelevant) and Hyundai, down 2.7 per cent.