European Union May Auto Sales Fall

BRUSSELS, June 13, 2003; Reuters reported that sales of new cars in the European Union (News - Websites) were down 5.2 percent last month compared with May last year, statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed. "The market is still suffering from the overall economic context and the aftermath of the Iraq crisis," ACEA said in a statement.

The biggest slump was for Fiat, despite a slight increase in market share in its home market in Italy reported earlier this month.

Fiat's sales in western Europe were down 15.9 percent in May reducing its market share in the region to 7.3 percent from 8.2 percent in May 2002.

The news was slightly better for Far East manufacturers, with Japanese imports up 0.5 percent in the month and up 4.7 percent for the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2002.

Korean imports were up 9.2 percent in the month and 10.34 percent in the five-month period.

All EU-based firms, including the European arms of U.S. carmakers Ford and General Motors Corp, saw sales drop.

Japanese firms' western European market share in the first five months was 12.2 percent compared with 11.2 percent year-on-year. Korean firms had 3.1 percent of the market, up from 2.7 percent in the five-month period of 2002.