Wednesday, March 18, 2015
European car sales rise 7% in February
Registrations of new cars in the European Union rose 7.3% in February to reach 924,440 units, according to the European carmakers association Acea.
It was the 18th consecutive month of growth. In the UK registrations rose 12% in a market driven by low interest rates, a recovering economy and attractive finance deals.
The Spanish market showed the strongest growth from a low base, up 26.1% driven by a joint government and industry scrappage scheme. Sales in Italy rose 13%.
Europe’s biggest market Germany saw growth of 6.6% and France grew 5.3% over the month but the market was largely driven by artificial sales.
According to IHS analyst Carlos Da Silva quoted in the AID Newsletter, self-registrations by car makers and dealers and sales pumped through daily rental account for 44% of registrations in Germany and 25% of registrations in France.
“We caution that the structure of the market is still quite shaky, current demand remains too dependent on artificial support,” said Da Silva.
Year to date registrations in Europe are ahead 7% to almost 2 million units, according to Acea.
Group sales at VW Group, Europe’s biggest carmaker, rose 11% in February. Registrations of models like the VW Golf, Seat Leon and Skoda Rapid were discounted by as much as 30%, according to a Bloombergreport, citing German research.
DATED: 18.03.15
FEED: MT
