The European car market, which fell 23.5% in September after a 31.2% surge in August, has been shaken since July by the entry into force of a new procedure for the approval of vehicles (WLTP), more demanding, starting September 1st.
These laboratory tests measure fuel consumption as well as CO2, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other harmful products.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which released the statistics on Wednesday, acknowledged that the September market crash of 1.09 million registered vehicles compared to 1.43 million in September 2017 was due to by “the introduction of the new WLTP tests which caused an exceptional surge in August”.
Builders are believed to have granted big discounts in July, and especially in August, on vehicles that could no longer be marketed from September, or to register them with their own dealers to sell them later , in recent occasions.
In a market sharply down last month, PSA (Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands), apparently better prepared than Volkswagen, limited the break with a decline in registrations by 7.7%, while those of its German rival (Audi, Seat, Skoda, Porsche brands …) plummeted by as much as 48%.
France limits the damage
As a result, the market share of the French group soared to 18.2%, compared to 15.8% for Volkswagen, which in recent years reigned supreme in the automotive market of the Old Continent with almost a quarter of registrations. “We have perfectly executed the application of the new standards where others have taken their feet in the carpet,” welcomed the AFP Maxime Picat, Europe director of the manufacturer tricolor.
“The WLTP effect is not a surprise,” reacted laconically the Volkswagen group, requested by AFP. He expects a month of October still difficult before recovery in November and December. Third on the European podium, Renault (including Dacia, Lada and Alpine) saw its deliveries fall by 27% in September.
All major European markets suffered a double-digit decline in September, but France limited the damage (-12.8%) while Germany is the most affected (-30.5%). Over nine months, the EU market still remains up 2.5%.