New car sales in Europe have increased by 6.8% in the year to date compared to the same period in 2015, despite growing global economic uncertainty and concerns that the Brexit vote could impact consumer confidence.
Research compiled by London automotive industry analyst JATO Dynamics shows that Europeans bought a total of 13,937,339 cars in 2016 so far, with 1,184,140 of those sales taking place last month. November’s figure represented a growth of 5% compared to the same month in 2015.
The UK ranks as Europe’s fourth-fastest-growing market, with the year-to-date sales here increasing by 2.9% compared with the same period last year. Spain and France were the continent’s fastest growers, with their demand up by 13% and 8.2% respectively.
In the face of Dieselgate the Volkswagen Group maintains its place as Europe’s biggest car maker. It accounted for 24.56% of sales, which represents a drop of just 0.28% on the year before. Renault-Nissan ranks second with 14.1% of sales, a 0.72% increase.
Daimler experienced the highest growth of 0.83%, ranking it fifth overall, while the PSA Group has experienced a decline in sales of 1.19% but still ranks third overall.
The SUV segment is the fastest-expanding car segment, accounting for 316,278 sales in November alone – a growth of 16.1% compared with November 2015 – and representing 26.7% of European sales.
“It’s looking highly likely that 2016 will top 2015’s strong registration figures, which is a remarkable feat given the political and economic uncertainty that has dominated,” said Felipe Munoz, global automotive analyst at JATO Dynamics. “However, it’s important that this growth isn’t taken for granted, as 2017 will bring further uncertainty, with the UK expected to trigger Article 50 in March, beginning the process of exiting the EU.”
Britain’s exit from the EU is expected to dent consumer confidence in the UK and Europe, meaning 2017 could be the year in which growth halts in the new car market.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Number two
Best European car sales for 9 years!
OK, so the Investment Bankers failed to successfully process due diligence and the hedge fund managers only had to wait but the originating bankers clearly knew what they were doing. To date, no one has been prosecuted.
What of the motor industry? It is evolving to a changing environment. Vehicle prices have risen significantly, technology is being marketed as added value. Low cost of money allowed Pheonix like survival of many manufacturers, although we did see a bit of a brand cull. The growing Chinese market protected manufacturers volumes from the collapsing US and European Markets.
The long awaited arrival of the Chinese Challenger Brands failed to materialise.
The Diesel engine is being sacrificed at the shrine of clean air when poor political decision making had put it on a pedestal. The Diesel is a great power resource in the right environment.
The EV is being accelerated in to replace Diesel and I hope it won't be compromised in the rush.
Arguably the greatest change is coming from the IT industry with the promise of autonomous self driving vehicles, car sharing and collision avoidance as unintended consequences.
2017 - 2020 will be interesting times.
Certainly Osborne's complete cock up will not help