European Auto Sales Slide in January for Fifth Straight Month

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) on Friday reported new vehicle registration totals in the European Union (EU) for the month of January. Sales declined by 4.6% year over year in the month. Registrations (sales) fell for the fifth consecutive month.

Despite the year-over-year slump, EU sales of 1.2 million units in January was the second-highest total on record for the month. Sales fell in all five of the EU’s five major markets: Spain by 8%, Italy by 7.5%, the United Kingdom by 1.6%, Germany by 1.4% and France by 1.1%.

Of the Detroit Three, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) saw its January market share in the EU dip from 6.7% in 2018 to 6.0%. Unit sales totaled 71,310, down by 14.9% year over year. Sales of the Fiat brand fell by 19.6%, while Jeep sales dropped by 1.9%.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) sold 77,222 units in January, a year-over-year decline of 6.5% for the month. The company’s January market share rang in at 6.5%, down from 6.6% a year ago.

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General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) left the European auto market in 2017 but announced this morning that it would be selling electric bicycles in three EU countries with deliveries beginning next quarter.

The top-selling maker in the EU is Volkswagen, which sold 288,266 vehicles in January, down 6.5% year over year for the month. VW’s market share for the month totaled 24.1%, down from 24.6% in January 2018.

PSA Group, makers of Peugeot, Citroen and other brands, posted a January sales decline of 1.9% to 204,199 units. The company’s market share increased from 16.6% to 17.1% for the month.

Renault Group posted a volume decline of 0.7% to 115,794 units in January, and its year-over-year share increased from 9.3% to 9.7%.

BMW Group’s market share ticked up year over year from 5.8% to 5.9% in January. The company sold 70,942 units last month, down by 2.7% compared with year-ago January sales of 72,883.

Daimler posted a market share increase last month, rising from 5.8% in January 2018 to 6.0%, with sales totaling 71,152 units. On a volume basis, sales slipped by 1.3% year over year.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) posted market share of 5.3% in January, down by 0.1 percentage points compared with a year ago. Sales volume dropped by 5.4% to 63,584 units.

For the month of January, Germany was the volume leader with more than 265,000 units sold, down 1.4% year over year for the month. France posted January sales of just over 155,000, down 1.1% for the month. In the United Kingdom, monthly sales dropped by 1.6% to 161,000 units. Italy saw unit sales tumble by 7.5% in January to just under 165,000.

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