NEWS: European Car Market Drops Again
16th December 2008 EUROPEAN CAR MARKET DROPS AGAIN * European new car market falls by 25.3% in November * Audi A4 posts 16.6% sales increase YTD * Volkswagen Europe's best selling brand JATO Dynamics, the world's leading provider of automotive data and intelligence, reports today that the European new car market fell by 25.3% (313,361 units) during November 2008, when compared to the same month last year. Total sales for the month now stand at 924,936 units, down from 1,238,297 in 2007. This further decline in the market, which has dropped consistently over the past seven months, sees an increased YtD deficit figure, in comparison to 2007. The total sales figure for the first 11 months of 2008 being 13,556,052 units - 7.1% (1,030,584 units) lower than the same period last year. "The market is usually less buoyant at this time of year," says David Di Girolamo, Business Manager for JATO Consult. "Though this is an unprecedented drop in sales, it's not wholly unexpected, given the current economic climate. There has been some movement between brands in the Top 10 table, but Volkswagen maintains its increasingly secure grip on the top spot." Brand Performance Volkswagen once more triumphed as Europe's top-selling car brand during November, ahead of Ford, Renault, Opel/Vauxhall and Fiat. Top market performers YtD are Volkswagen, Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot. In such a depressed market, Audi stands out for posting sales of just 1.1% less than November 2007, whilst enjoying a 0.2% (1,457 units) sales increase YtD, largely buoyed by the strong performance of its new A4 model. Few other brands have recorded increased sales during the last month, though with a 27.9% up-turn to 10,163 units, Dacia stands out from the rest, following the introduction of its new Sandero model. YtD this figure increases further, to 42.6% (from 68,149 to 97,206). Other manufacturers worthy of note for their YtD numbers are Nissan (up 9.9%, 28,971 units), Mazda (up 2.4%, 5,356 units), smart (up 12.1%, 10,486 units), Subaru (up 10.5%, 4,439 units) and Jaguar (up 13.3%, 4,120 units). Top Ten Brands Make Nov_08 Nov_07 % Change Nov Nov YtD_08 Nov YtD_07 % Change YtD VOLKSWAGEN 110,034 135,680 -18.9% 1,440,300 1,497,185 -3.8% FORD 80,979 96,776 -16.3% 1,141,593 1,199,512 -4.8% RENAULT 73,628 95,074 -22.6% 1,024,003 1,098,429 -6.8% OPEL/VAUXHALL 61,780 98,152 -37.1% 1,056,277 1,231,663 -14.2% FIAT 59,517 78,108 -23.8% 886,566 899,915 -1.5% PEUGEOT 58,948 82,468 -28.5% 933,553 1,022,263 -8.7% CITROEN 55,441 73,190 -24.3% 799,580 877,370 -8.9% AUDI 50,292 50,853 -1.1% 614,871 613,414 +0.2% MERCEDES 45,460 58,415 -22.2% 643,483 679,519 -5.3% BMW 43,357 60,661 -28.5% 629,840 646,357 -2.6% Top Models Once again, the Volkswagen Golf has maintained its lead as Europe's top-selling car during November (up 5.5% YtD when compared to the same period last year). Sitting at the top of the table, the Golf leads the new Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207, Ford Focus, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Passat, Opel / Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Audi A4 and Fiat Punto. As the market continues to fall, Audi's new A4 was the only vehicle in the top 10 that managed a sales increase during November, with an increase of 21.2% taking 9th place in the European car market. YtD, the model's sales are up 16.6%, placing it at 9th place overall. Other new models performing well in the European new car market include the Hyundai i10, Dacia Sandero, Ford Kuga, Alfa Romeo Mito, Lancia Delta, Suzuki Splash, Renault Koleos, Audi Q5 and BMW X6. Increased sales during November have also been enjoyed by the Peugeot 308, Opel / Vauxhall Agila, Nissan Qashqai, Fiat 500, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Tiguan, Citroën C5 and Renault Modus, largely due to the addition of new versions or increased availability. Top Ten Models Make & Model Nov_08 Nov_07 % Change Nov Nov YtD_08 Nov YtD_07 % Change YtD VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 29,583 40,204 -26.4% 425,629 403,619 +5.5% FORD FIESTA 23,561 24,536 -4.0% 303,875 331,857 -8.4% PEUGEOT 207 22,358 33,757 -33.8% 383,090 410,002 -6.6% FORD FOCUS 22,255 30,074 -26.0% 344,113 372,263 -7.6% RENAULT CLIO 20,733 29,919 -30.7% 318,612 356,551 -10.6% VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 20,156 24,847 -18.9% 235,729 279,965 -15.8% OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA 19,937 30,276 -34.1% 334,377 373,065 -10.4% VOLKSWAGEN POLO 19,485 23,212 -16.1% 255,824 269,621 -5.1% AUDI A4/S4/RS4 18,293 15,095 +21.2% 239,551 205,469 +16.6% FIAT PUNTO 16,849 24,562 -31.4% 262,641 352,599 -25.5% National Trends As expected given the current global economic conditions, the majority of markets across Europe recorded significantly lower new car sales in November 2008 than during the same month last year. Most noticeably, Iceland's sales fell by a staggering 94.6%, from 1,365 units in November 2007 to just 74 units in November 2008. Finland, however recorded sales of 77.5% more than a year ago, with new car sales jumping from 3,631 in November 2007 to 6,445 last month. This still represents a downturn when compared to the same month every year for the past decade, but for 2007 when the market was depressed due to imminent tax changes. This depression also explains the YtD rise of 9.5%. Other markets recording YtD up-turns include Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland, thanks to strong sales early in the year. Country Nov_08 Nov_07 % Change Nov Nov YtD_08 Nov YtD_07 % Change YtD Austria 19,836 22,870 -13.3% 277,986 279,416 -0.5% Belgium 30,381 36,351 -16.4% 514,110 501,100 +2.6% Cyprus 1,319 1,886 -30.1% 20,808 21,561 -3.5% Czech Republic 13,994 15,410 -9.2% 168,563 155,169 +8.6% Denmark 7,822 15,196 -48.5% 140,241 148,838 -5.8% Estonia 1,120 2,461 -54.5% 23,650 29,252 -19.2% Finland 6,445 3,631 +77.5% 135,148 123,417 +9.5% France 145,893 169,757 -14.1% 1,896,597 1,881,995 +0.8% Germany 233,772 283,921 -17.7% 2,864,059 2,906,258 -1.5% Great Britain 100,333 158,735 -36.8% 2,023,103 2,266,047 -10.7% Greece 13,395 19,971 -32.9% 258,900 269,278 -3.9% Hungary 10,053 14,094 -28.7% 143,248 158,085 -9.4% Iceland 74 1,365 -94.6% 8,987 15,092 -40.5% Ireland 644 1,460 -55.9% 151,434 186,049 -18.6% Italy 139,565 198,527 -29.7% 2,029,373 2,349,583 -13.6% Latvia 1,063 2,621 -59.4% 18,811 30,481 -38.3% Lithuania 1,047 2,179 -52.0% 21,191 19,822 +6.9% Luxembourg 3,426 3,823 -10.4% 48,142 46,663 +3.2% Norway 6,952 10,453 -33.5% 102,798 119,973 -14.3% Poland 25,294 24,537 +3.1% 288,588 266,567 +8.3% Portugal 17,334 15,917 +8.9% 194,172 186,467 +4.1% Slovakia 6,041 6,858 -11.9% 80,102 68,364 +17.2% Slovenia 4,252 5,121 -17.0% 65,372 61,192 +6.8% Spain 63,112 130,609 -51.7% 1,088,911 1,465,916 -25.7% Sweden 17,616 27,705 -36.4% 235,199 276,049 -14.8% Switzerland 24,342 24,801 -1.9% 265,816 259,733 +2.3% The Netherlands 29,811 38,038 -21.6% 490,743 494,269 -0.7% Grand Total 924,936 1,238,297 -25.3% 13,556,052 14,586,636 -7.1% The above data is provided by JATO Consult, the company's bespoke consulting service which offers customers access to its unique data and provides solutions and advice to meet a wide range of automotive business challenges. For more information visit www.jato.com <http://www.jato.com/> , or email consult@jato.com. Ends- Editorial note: JATO Dynamics background JATO was founded in 1984 and provides the world's most timely, accurate and up-to-date information on vehicle specifications and pricing, sales and registrations, news and incentives. The company has representation in over 40 countries, providing unique local market expertise. The JATO client base includes all of the world's volume vehicle manufacturers, giving them the ability to react to short-term market movements, plan for long-term developments and ultimately to meet consumers' needs. JATO's data has also been adapted for consumer use in motoring web portals where customers can see the advantages and disadvantages of a specified model against any other while major leasing companies use JATO data to drive the vehicle quotation process. 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