AUTONEWS

Car market slows in the EU

Europeans are increasingly turning to new car purchases, as evidenced by the fact that sales fell by 3.2% in the first quarter of the year, with only 3.6% declining in March. It is true that diesel engines suffer the most (from 36% to 31% in March), but the rise in gasoline engines (from 57% to 60%) is not enough to compensate. In the same month, sales of electric and electrified vehicles (hybrids and plug-in hybrids) helped (rose from 5.3% to 7.1%), but not enough.
In Europe to 27, only eight countries saw sales increase, but none of them was a big market. These saw purchases fall 0.6% in Germany, 2.8% in France, 3.5% in the United Kingdom, 9.2% in Italy and 2.8% in Spain, whereas Portugal fell by 9.6% in March and 5.2% in the first quarter.
The brand that continues to dominate the Old Continent is Volkswagen, with 184,470 units in March, despite falling 3%, slightly lower than the market (3.6%), with clear margin ahead of Renault (120,664 vehicles and less 5%) and Ford (115,975), even though the American manufacturer took a more pronounced fall (15%). Opel / Vauxhall traded 106,642 units (-3%), putting it ahead of Peugeot's 103,723 (-3%).
The second division of the European market continues to be dominated by luxury brands, with Mercedes ahead (97,111 and -4%), followed by BMW (92,228 and -4%) and Audi (91,368 and 3%). the only builder who sees the number of traded vehicles going up.
Toyota comes next, is 9th in the ranking, ahead of Skoda, Fiat, Citroën and Dacia. Among the fastest growing brands are Tesla (+ 276% and, for the first time, among the 25 largest European), Dacia (+ 27%) and Mitsubishi (16%), while manufacturers whose sales recede more clearly are Nissan (-29%) and Honda (-19%).
European drivers remain loyal to the traditionally best-selling models, with Volkswagen Golf being the most popular (46,364 units, but -14% due to the next generation), ahead of the Renault Clio (39,744) , which despite having already announced and revealed substitute, still sees sales increase 7%. It follows the Polo, the Corsa and the Fiesta, with the Focus to take 6th place and second place among the compact.
Among the SUVs, Qashqai is the best seller (29,365 and -16%), followed by Captur (27,675 and + 4%), Tiguan (23,668 and -6%), Duster (whose sales soared by 23,609 and 44% ), T-Roc (a further success with 23,423 and + 74%), 3008 (20,951 and + 2%) and 2008 (18,682 and -8%).
On the whole, the models that see their sales increase more significantly are the Model 3, T-Roc and Duster, while those that accuse a more evident fall of the demand are the Fiesta and the X-Trail.