European market up 3.3% in July

18 August 2009

The European new car market was up by 3.3% in July in comparison to last year and the Volkswagen Golf remains the best selling car throughout Europe.

Figures from JATO Dynamics show that the VW Golf’s fifth consecutive month at the top of the charts was 15.5% up year-to-date (YTD) and Golf sales saw a 26.9% rise in July.

Ford’s new Fiesta has continued to increase its sales across Europe, up 37.1% year-to-date and a massive 55.9% for the month of July.

Other small car rivals are following its lead, headed by Fiat – the Panda posted sales rises of 32.6% YTD and 47% in July, while the Punto buoyed the Italian carmaker with sales up 2.5% YTD and 38% for the month.

JATO said small cars were leading the way to recovery in the European new car market, while the YTD deficit in new car sales has improved, to be only 8.5% behind 2008. In a marked contrast to previous years, the top ten best-selling cars are now all B or C-segment vehicles.

Other Government-backed incentives are also influencing the market, with sales of LPG and CNG-fuelled cars more than double the figure for the same period last year. Italy leads the way for these ECO fuels, followed by France for LPG, Sweden and Germany for CNG.

Meanwhile, reduced demand for larger cars has led to diesel’s share of the European new car market falling below 50% for the first time since May 2007.

David Di Girolamo, head of JATO Consult, said: “The much talked about ‘green shoots’ of recovery can be seen in the small car segment, which is the greatest beneficiary of scrappage incentives and European customers’ desire to move to more affordable cars. Whether this performance is sustainable remains to be seen.”