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Venerdì sono arrivati i dati delle vendite sul mercato europeo allargato di febbraio 2009: pessimi soprattutto per le francesi e le premium tedesche (BMW e MB)... Bene VW (che con Audi sopravanza le due altre premium tedesche per la prima volta) e Ford, si difendono Fiat e i nipponici.
Se puoi recupeare il Sole di sabato, ampio articolo a pagina 15, prima pagina di economia ed imprese.
European Car Sales Drop 18% as Recession Hits Once-Booming East
By Chris Reiter
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- European car sales plunged 18 percent in February as the global recession stifled demand for Opel, Mercedes-Benz and BMW models, especially in the once- booming eastern part of the continent.
Registrations fell to 968,159 vehicles last month from 1.19 million a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement today. It was the sharpest February drop since the organization began recording data in 1990 and follows a 27 percent drop in January, which was the steepest in a contraction that’s extended to 10 months.
The slumping economy and tight credit markets have taken a toll on the auto industry. Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest automaker, yesterday predicted a first-quarter loss as Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said 2009 “will be one of the most difficult years in the company’s history.” Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s top luxury-car manufacturer, said 2008 net income plunged 89 percent after it took charges for bad loans and leases.
Industry deliveries in eastern Europe fell 30 percent to 66,123 vehicles, as Romania dropped 67 percent and Hungary declined 46 percent. Poland, the region’s largest market, bucked the trend, posting an increase of 7.3 percent to 30,194 cars and sport-utility vehicles.
In western Europe, demand fell 17 percent to 902,037 vehicles, as the Spanish market plunged 49 percent and the U.K. dropped 22 percent. Auto sales collapsed in Iceland, where the economy capsized after the island nation’s biggest banks failed to refinance their debt. There were 91 new vehicles registered in the country in February compared with 1,035 a year earlier.
Seeking Emergency Help
The auto industry is pressing European governments and regulators for emergency help as it slashes production to clear inventories of unsold cars. The euro-region economy will contract in 2009 for the first time since the single currency was introduced a decade ago, according to the European Commission.
Sales in Germany, which is offering consumers 2,500 euros ($3,234) on new-car purchases when they scrap an old car, surged 22 percent to 277,740. The government-incentive program has sparked a wave of deal-making, leading to discounts of more than 40 percent, according to Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg- Essen.
General Motors Corp.’s Opel, sold as Vauxhall in the U.K., lost market share, as the Ruesselsheim, Germany-based manufacturer petitions European governments for 3.3 billion euros in emergency aid. Opel and Vauxhall sales fell 22 percent, eroding their market share to 7.3 percent from 7.6 percent. Sales at Trollhaettan, Sweden-based Saab, which filed for reorganization after GM halted financing, fell 54 percent.
Audi Market Share
Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit overtook BMW and Mercedes-Benz to become the region’s largest luxury brand, at least for last month. Audi’s market share rose to 4.5 percent from 3.9 percent, after sales fell 7.1 percent.
Munich-based BMW posted a 29 percent sales fall, as the brand’s share slipped to 3.5 percent from 4 percent. Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand suffered a 34 percent drop, losing nearly a full percentage point of market share to 3.6 percent from 4.5 percent.
Volkswagen, the region’s best-selling brand, boosted its market share to 11.6 percent in February from 10.1 percent, as deliveries slipped 6.2 percent. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based manufacturer’s Spanish Seat brand suffered from its home market’s weakness as sales plunged 31 percent.
Deliveries for PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-largest automaker, tumbled 25 percent, leading to a market-share decline of 1.2 percentage points to 13 percent.
