This is a new month to forget for the automotive industry. New car registrations in France fell by 14.1% in August. In total, it has registered 129.259 passenger vehicles last month, according to raw data from the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA) unveiled Monday morning.
Traditionally characterized by reduced activity in automobile dealerships, August counted this year 21 working days, compared to 22 last year at the same time. In total over eight months, the market fell by 3.1% on a reported basis, after a cumulative decline of 1.8% over the first seven months of the year.
Three consecutive months of decline
After starting 2019 on a bad foot due to the disruption caused by the WLTP’s stricter homologation cycle, the French car market has seen a recovery in the spring but now has three consecutive months of decline.
Prior to the release of the August data, the CCFA forecast a stagnation of registrations for the whole of 2019, interrupting four consecutive years of growth. The Cetelem Automobile Observatory is more pessimistic as the second half of the year promises to be uncertain, with the decline in consumer demand and the shocks expected with the new 2020 CO2 targets. It forecasts a 3.3% decline in the market this year.
French groups are struggling
The registrations of the PSA group, which includes the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, fell by 4.86% in August compared to the same month of 2018. The group Renault, which warned at the end of July on its annual turnover because of the deterioration of its sales in several of its important markets, saw, meanwhile, its registrations in France dive 31.16% last month.
Overall, French manufacturers saw their sales fall by 18.0% in August. Foreign groups posted a more limited decline of 9.7% for foreign manufacturers. Only Toyota (+ 13.3%) and Daimler (+ 67.6%) are among the few who stand out.
Reuters source