European car market continues growth
- August 31, 2018
- Posted by: Simon Wait
- Category: Industry News
The European car market continued its growth in July, as a total of 1.31 million cars were registered, the highest monthly volume since July 2009 when 1.29 million cars were registered.
The market was boosted by increased demand in Spain and France, as well as double-digit growth in midsize markets like the Netherlands, Austria and Poland. The results were also boosted by an extra selling day in the month compared to July 2017, and the upcoming deadline to register cars under the existing NEDC emissions regulations may also have had an impact by accelerating the purchase process.
‘The results from July are certainly positive and a clear sign that the market is recovering well, despite the current challenges it faces over diesel and CO2 regulations. Although these results are encouraging, part of the growth could potentially be explained by more consumers and dealers buying cars before the WLTP test process is extended to cover all new car registrations on 1 September,’ commented Felipe Munoz, JATO’s global analyst.
The SUV segment once again benefited from the increase in consumer demand. As has been the case for many months, demand for SUVs continued to grow throughout July, as its volume increased by 34% to 461,900 units. This means they accounted for 35.3% of total registrations across Europe for the month – a new record.
VW Group was once again the top-selling car maker in Europe in July and it also posted the highest market share gain.
Renault-Nissan also performed well in July, with registrations up by 14% to 193,100 units. Other brands which recorded significant increases during the month included Suzuki, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Smart, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Jaguar and Subaru. Conversely, Mazda, Mini, Land Rover, and Mercedes all posted declines.
