DPA
In the first half of the year, Germany only slipped slightly in terms of new registrations; other markets were hit harder
The European car market again suffered a significant setback in June. 1.45 million new cars were registered in the EU, 7.8 percent fewer than in the same month last year, announced the European industry association Acea on Wednesday, For the most part, the minus was due to a calendar effect, it was said by the association. In June there were only 19 sales days on average, last year it was therefore two more days.
But also in the year to date is after the first half of the year with about 8.18 million cars sold a loss of 3.1 percent to book.
Sales in all of Europe’s major markets fell in the first half of the year: in France, there were about 2 percent fewer registrations, while in Italy they slipped 3.5 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. The British auto industry, which is plagued by the Brexit riots, brought 3.4 percent fewer cars to buyers. Only Germany recorded a small increase of 0.5 percent in new registrations in the first half of the year.
Problems with test procedures continue
Since the introduction of the new WLTP exhaust and consumption test method last September, the figures have been falling, only in May, registrations stagnated. Several large manufacturers, especially Volkswagen, had not been able to supply many models since the changeover because of missing certifications. Production losses have been weighing heavily on the industry in Europe since then.
In June, it was reported that 4.7 percent fewer registrations were received in Germany, and figures also fell in the other major markets France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
Among the manufacturers, the VW group recorded with all its vehicle brands a minus of 9.5 percent, in the first half of the year was the minus of Wolfsburg with all brands around 4 percent.
Even though the premium manufacturers Daimler with Mercedes BMW (including smart and mini) dropped sharply in new registrations in June, they were able to limit the decline to 0.8 percent over the first half of the year.
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