Central And Eastern European Car Market Stalls In 2009

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – August 18, 2009: JATO Dynamics, the world’s leading provider of automotive data and intelligence, has observed a significant contraction in Central and Eastern European new car markets, in the first half of 2009.

All the major volume brands, with the exception of Kia, have experienced a downturn in sales, as the region, once the star of performer in European new car sales, reflects the wider economic crisis.

Regional Summary
In total, 504,641 cars were sold in CEE in the first six months of 2009. Poland remains the largest market in the region, with sales of 168,888 in the period (up 0.1% on H1 2008) representing a third of all sales, having the distinction of being one of only two markets in the region to post a YtD sales rise.

Sharing this accolade was Slovakia, which saw YtD sales rise 3.6%, to 45,728 units. All other markets suffered sales falls, with Latvia (-73.7%), Lithuania (-67.9%), Estonia (-62.4%) and Croatia (-48.6%) amongst the worst affected.

“The brakes have been well and truly applied to the racing Central and Eastern Europe new car market,” says David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult. “The recent growth enjoyed in these markets has put them on a level close the Western Europe, but this growth has now been severely affected by the recession.”

Another of the markets significantly affected by the downturn is Hungary which saw a 42,390 fall in units on the same period last year. Di Girolamo continues “the stricter loan policies introduced by financial institutions and the effects of an increase in VAT (20% to 25%) from 1st July aren’t helping the market to recover. Industry experts and market analysts hoped that the scrappage schemes which have stimulated western European markets could be introduced but there is no sign on the agenda for the near future”.