The bad signs of the first quarter were confirmed. Global sales of PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Vauxhall brands) fell by 12.8% in the first half to 1.9 million vehicles, affected in particular by the shutdown of sales in Iran and trade difficulties in China .
It is the Peugeot brand that signs the biggest decline with -23.7%, ahead of Citroën (-6.4%) and Opel-Vauxhall (-0.67%). Only the DS brand saw sales increase in volume (+ 1.46%) over the first six months of 2019.
Maintenance in Europe
In retail, sales fell 60.6% in China and Southeast Asia (to 162,946 units) and 68.3% in Africa-Middle East (to 226,133 vehicles). They also fell sharply (-29.3%) in Latin America (to 98,033 units).
However, the French manufacturer maintained its sales in Europe, its largest market: + 0.27% to 1.67 million vehicles sold, driven by the good performance of Citroën which gained 0.3 points of market share thanks to the success of its range of SUV C5 Aircross and C3 Aircross. European countries now account for 88% of PSA’s total sales, up 11 points from the first half of 2018.
End of cycle
These half-tone results are not unique to PSA. They testify to an end of cycle that concerns the global automobile . In the first quarter, the combined turnover of the 16 largest global manufacturers reached 412 billion euros, down for the first time in ten years, according to the firm EY.
For its part, the rating agency Standard & Poors has recently lowered its forecasts. In his eyes, European sales will be at best stable, US volumes will stall by more than 3%, as the Chinese. As a result, global car production could fall this year, which would be a first since 2009. And almost nobody is spared. In the first quarter, sales of General Motors, PSA, Renault, Fiat-Chrysler, BMW, Daimler-Mercedes and Ford have declined compared to the same period last year. Even Toyota thinks its revenues will decrease in 2019-20.