'Auto Sales Figures Down' by Robin Marshall

The dip in sales has accelerated in June compared with May and continues the recent downward trend in the market over the past few months,” said Nasir Shah, Global Business Development Director at JATO, speaking of the European market as a whole.“However, the world’s leading manufacturers are mitigating the impact of the credit crunch and rising oil prices through continued product innovation, new and exciting models and major advances in fuel economy.”
 
Total sales in Hungary were put at 14,619 for June, a 9.4% fall from the 16,136 vehicles sold in June 2007.Year-to-date (YtD) sales were also down this year, with the current figure of 82,003 3.1% lower than last year’s 84,615.
Suzuki was the best-selling manufacturer in Hungary with 2,211 units and 15.12% of the market, a 29% fall compared to June 2007. 

The Suzuki SX4 was the best selling model with 755 units, a 7% increase on June 2007. Largest falls (for makes contributing to more than 2.50% of the market) were from Suzuki, Toyota and Honda with -28.68%, -21.99% and -17.23% respectively compared to June 2007. Austrian sales were 3.9% down on the monthly comparison, but only 0.3% down on YtD, with Slovenia’s market almost static on the monthly comparison (-0.7%), though 11.2% up on YtD.

Czech Republic (8.1% up on June 2007, and 10.7% up on YtD), Slovakia (+9.6% and +19.6% respectively) and Poland (+5.7% and +12.6%) showed what JATO described as “significant growth.”

Accross Europe, Volkswagen maintained its lead, heading the sales league in both June and year-to-date (YtD).
In June, second place was held by Opel/Vauxhall, followed by Renault, Ford and Peugeot. 

In YtD, Ford held second place from Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot. 

BMW achieved a 6.1% growth in sales compared YtD, helped by an expanded range of models.

Fiat has also performed well (up 2.7%); due to the success of the new 500 and Bravo models, whilst Mercedes achieved YtD figures which exactly mirror those of last year’s.

Outstanding

Outside of the top 10 brands, Jaguar (up 22.5%), Dacia (up 9.8%) and Mini (up 5.7%) all recorded positive figures in June. Daihatsu (up 11.9%) saw growth shoot up as a result of the Cuore/Charade and Sirion models’ low fuel consumption and attractive CO2 ratings. 

The VW Golf maintained what JATO called “its outstanding performance,” helping the German brand retain the position of Europe’s top-selling new car in June. The Peugeot 207 continued its strong performance in second place, followed by Renault Clio, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Ford Fiesta, BMW 3-Series, Fiat Punto and VW Polo.
In percentage terms, Denmark (down 62.4%), Ireland (-48.3%) and Latvia (-45.6%) recorded significant declines in June, demonstrating worsening market conditions in Europe. 

Not all is gloom and doom, however. Georges Megyeri, managing director for General Motors Hungary, told The Budapest Sun, “We are exceptionally satisfied with our first half results. On the slightly reduced domestic market, both our major brands Opel and Chevrolet managed to increase volume as well as market share. 

“As a matter of fact, these two brands had the biggest overall market share increase in the first half of the top 15 volume brands in the country. 

“Chevrolet volume was up almost 28% compared with the year before, and Opel commercial vehicle sales increased by more than 38%. 

“Yes, market conditions are tough, competition is high but our results show that, with the proper product, strong retailer network and competitive pricing you can improve results even under current conditions,” Megyeri added.

JATO (www.jato.com) was founded in 1984 and claims to provide “the world’s most timely, accurate and up-to-date intelligence on vehicle specifications and pricing, sales and registrations, news and incentives.” 

Source: Budapest Sun