2nd UPDATE: Europe Car Market Turns Corner; Incentives Fuel Demand
15 Julho 2009 - 1:43PM
Dow Jones News
European new-car registrations appeared to turn a corner in
June, posting the first increase in 14 months as government-led
scrapping incentives fueled demand.
New-car registrations in Europe last month climbed 2.4%
year-on-year to 1.46 million vehicles, the European Automobile
Manufacturers Association said Wednesday. Registrations are an
indicator of sales.
At least 10 European countries have implemented measures to spur
demand for new cars since sales started to collapse in the last
quarter of 2008. Those measures typically comprise price discounts
on new, fuel-efficient vehicles to car owners who trade in old gas
guzzlers.
Incentives on offer vary from country to country. Germany's plan
is one of the most generous: it offers EUR2,500 in discounts. As a
result, new-car registrations last month soared 40% year-on-year.
But the plan is unlikely to be extended beyond 2009 and "will cease
swelling car registrations by March, 2010," said Citigroup analyst
John Lawson in a note.
Other nations aren't prepared to remove the industry support
just yet. "France has already indicated it intends to provide
further support at the end of its scheme - we expect this policy to
be repeated elsewhere in Europe," Lawson added.
But analysts agree that the European market will slump once the
incentives end. Lawson said that "a material decline in Europe's
currently booming small-car sales in 2010 seems inevitable."
In the first half of the year, registrations in Europe, a key
source of earnings for global automakers, dropped 11% from the same
period last year to 7.43 million vehicles.
Registrations in Western Europe were up 4.6% at 1.38 million in
June and fell 9.8% on the year in the January-to-June period to
6.98 million passenger cars.
Despite the scrapping incentives, General Motors Corp.'s (GMGMQ)
European division in June posted an 8.4% fall in new-car
registrations to 133,373 vehicles as a 16% rise at its Chevrolet
brand failed to offset an 8.9% decline at Opel and Vauxhall.
GM currently is discussing offers to sell a majority stake in
Opel and Vauxhall.
Fiat SpA (F.MI) posted an 11.7% rise year-on-year to 125,640
vehicle, making it the best-performing automaker in Europe, as the
scrapping incentives fostered demand for its small cars.
New-car registrations at Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE), Europe's
largest automaker by sales, were up 9.5% on the year in June at
312,302 vehicles, driven by its core VW brand.
Ford Motor Co.'s (F) European division saw registrations in June
increase 2.2% on the year to 146,542 cars as the Ford brand's 5.4%
rise more than offset a 15% decline at Swedish brand Volvo.
European new-car registrations for Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO)
last month were down 4% on the year at 65,246 vehicles, with the
Lexus premium brand posting a 30% slump to 1,696 cars.
French automakers Renault SA (RNO.FR) and PSA Peugeot-Citroen
(UG.FR) both performed roughly in line with the overall market last
month. Renault saw its new-car registrations rise 3.4% to 141,932
cars while Peugeot's registrations were up 4.4% at 191,638.
Renault's performance continued to benefit from strong demand at
its Romanian low-frills Dacia brand, where European sales last
month jumped 58% year-on-year to 27,144 cars. The Renault brand
accounted for 114,788 cars in June, down 4.4% on the year.
The economic downturn continued to eat into luxury car sales in
Europe last month as the region's scrapping incentives sparked
demand mainly for small vehicles rather than larger, premium
cars.
The world's two best-selling luxury automakers, BMW AG (BMW.XE)
and Daimler AG (DAI), saw sales shrink 10.9% to 75,466 cars and
2.7% to 70,380 cars, respectively. Executives from both companies
last week said that the trough of the segment's downturn had been
reached.
Company Web site: www.acea.be
-By Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 512;
christoph.rauwald@dowjones.com