FIESTA STEALS EUROPE'S TOP SPOT AS GOLF'S CROWN SLIPS

JATO Dynamics’ monthly analysis of the European new car market is showing, for the first time in a year, the hugely popular Volkswagen Golf has lost its strangle hold as Europe’s most popular model, handing the accolade to Ford’s well received new Fiesta. The Fiesta’s success is set against an overall European new car market which fell 9.0% (or 147,965 units) in March 2009 compared to March 2008, to a total of 1,488,386 units. Year-to-Date the market fell 16.9% (or 691,350 units) compared to the same period last year, to a total of 3,401,473 units.

Crucial to the success of the new Fiesta has been its increased sales in Germany and Italy, and a sustained performance in the otherwise depressed UK market. The Fiesta recorded a 15.5% increase in volumes in March with 52,805 vehicles sold.

“It’s interesting to see the continued affect that the government scrapping incentives have had in certain markets. Germany and Italy are big markets for new cars, and we’re really seeing the commercial benefits brought about by the new incentives”, says David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult. “We will track the markets with interest as it will be important to understand if this is a short term reaction by consumers or if it will have a prolonged effect on the market.”

Several small models have also risen to greater prominence in the top ten, including the VW Polo and Fiat Punto. Much of this can be attributed to Italy where the inclusion of CNG and LPG vehicles in the incentive scheme has provided a boost. Particularly worthy of note is the performance of Fiat’s evergreen Panda, which posted significant sales growth in March, up 62% on last year, over 25% from the additional fuel types in Italy alone. Punto sales in Italy for CNG/LPG versions were more than the total growth for this model. “The Panda is a perfect example of a car that can benefit from today’s market conditions”, continues Di Girolamo. “It’s a very affordable car to buy new and has become more fashionable recently, cheap to run with low CO2 emissions, and available with diesel, CNG and LPG variants. It’s an easy step-up into the new car market for those who have been encouraged to scrap their old cars.”

Behind the Fiesta, the top ten places were rounded off by the VW Golf, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, VW Polo, Fiat Punto, Ford Focus, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio and Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

Overall in the first quarter of the year, the total market fell by 16.9%. The Golf still leads Year-to-Date, from the Fiesta, 207, Corsa, Focus, Polo, Punto, Panda, Clio and Astra.

Top 10 Models

Make & Model Mar_09

Mar_08

% Change Mar

Mar YtD_09

Mar YtD_08

% Change YtD

FORD FIESTA

52,805

45,725

+15.5%

113,576

98,124

+15.7%

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

46,415

46,461

-0.1%

119,651

124,539

-3.9%

OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA

40,346

45,199

-10.7%

80,361

106,136

-24.3%

PEUGEOT 207

39,499

46,674

-15.4%

90,735

122,877

-26.2%

VOLKSWAGEN POLO

38,316

29,407

+30.3%

76,666

74,288

+3.2%

FIAT PUNTO

37,337

33,270

+12.2%

73,113

90,147

-18.9%

FORD FOCUS

35,398

45,805

-22.7%

79,008

106,268

-25.7%

FIAT PANDA

33,593

20,705

+62.2%

72,178

62,167

+16.1%

RENAULT CLIO

31,938

39,490

-19.1%

66,666

97,716

-31.8%

OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA

27,236

43,831

-37.9%

59,519

99,617

-40.3%

Brand Performance

Volkswagen was once again Europe’s top-selling car brand in March (up 1.9%), ahead of Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Fiat (up 12.8%) and Renault. The order of the top five brands remains the same Year-to-Date.

Top 10 Brands

Make Mar_09

Mar_08

% Change Mar

Mar YtD_09

Mar YtD_08

% Change YtD

VOLKSWAGEN

155,648

152,723

+1.9%

372,077

399,835

-6.9%

FORD

143,480

152,812

-6.1%

315,484

351,030

-10.1%

OPEL/VAUXHALL

116,206

144,129

-19.4%

251,910

332,826

-24.3%

FIAT

112,709

99,885

+12.8%

249,002

277,843

-10.4%

RENAULT

102,066

121,921

-16.3%

235,006

305,850

-23.2%

PEUGEOT

98,319

109,383

-10.1%

232,239

291,811

-20.4%

TOYOTA

80,152

87,600

-8.5%

183,469

225,299

-18.6%

CITROEN

79,184

86,774

-8.7%

197,095

240,367

-18.0%

AUDI

63,087

65,301

-3.4%

152,817

160,634

-4.9%

MERCEDES

59,913

74,267

-19.3%

136,360

186,375

-26.8%

Significantly, March proved to be a more promising month for many brands following a poor start to the year. Skoda, Hyundai, Suzuki, Dacia and Alfa-Romeo all posted significant increases in new car sales.

National Trends

As expected given the global economic conditions, most markets across Europe recorded significantly lower new car sales in March 2009 than in March 2008. The key exceptions were France and Germany, where the government scrapping incentives boosted the markets. Year-to-Date, only Germany and Poland have recorded increased sales.

Country

Mar_09

Mar_08

% Change Mar

Mar YtD_09

Mar YtD_08

% Change YtD

Austria

26,477

29,907

-11.5%

64,296

73,778

-12.9%

Belgium*

41,981

57,077

-26.4%

135,575

169,864

-20.2%

Cyprus*

1,590

1,894

-16.1%

4,852

5,898

-17.7%

Czech Republic*

14,354

15,491

-7.3%

37,416

42,741

-12.5%

Denmark

9,006

11,989

-24.9%

24,166

39,350

-38.6%

Estonia

895

2,531

-64.6%

2,704

7,435

-63.6%

Finland

10,716

12,625

-15.1%

29,411

46,230

-36.4%

France

204,018

188,879

+8.0%

505,456

526,121

-3.9%

Germany

400,865

286,549

+39.9%

867,990

735,914

+17.9%

Great Britain

313,912

451,642

-30.5%

480,358

683,349

-29.7%

Greece

13,371

22,393

-40.3%

49,129

79,071

-37.9%

Hungary

9,249

13,895

-33.4%

22,380

39,621

-43.5%

Iceland

76

855

-91.1%

293

3,322

-91.2%

Ireland

7,811

21,451

-63.6%

32,646

92,713

-64.8%

Italy

215,350

215,695

-0.2%

540,859

671,081

-19.4%

Latvia

567

1,893

-70.0%

1,515

5,990

-74.7%

Lithuania

653

2,209

-70.4%

1,928

6,837

-71.8%

Luxembourg

4,768

5,356

-11.0%

10,011

13,490

-25.8%

Norway

7,601

9,506

-20.0%

19,241

29,974

-35.8%

Poland*

31,147

30,387

+2.5%

88,170

86,924

+1.4%

Portugal*

15,718

22,043

-28.7%

34,725

55,213

-37.1%

Slovakia*

4,996

6,828

-26.8%

12,683

19,742

-35.8%

Slovenia

5,360

6,643

-19.3%

14,648

18,799

-22.1%

Spain

76,512

124,624

-38.6%

198,018

347,609

-43.0%

Sweden

18,035

23,540

-23.4%

43,937

61,823

-28.9%

Switzerland*

18,478

23,472

-21.3%

53,678

66,542

-19.3%

The Netherlands

34,880

46,977

-25.8%

125,388

163,392

-23.3%

Grand Total

1,488,386

1,636,351

-9.0%

3,401,473

4,092,823

-16.9%

* denotes estimated volumes for March 2009

The above data is provided by JATO Consult, the company’s bespoke consulting service which offers customers access to its unique data and provides solutions and advice to meet a wide range of automotive business challenges. For more information visit www.jato.com, or email consult@jato.com .  

JATO was founded in 1984 and provides the world’s most timely, accurate and up-to-date information on vehicle specifications and pricing, sales and registrations, news and incentives. The company has representation in over 40 countries, providing unique local market expertise. The JATO client base includes all of the world’s volume vehicle manufacturers, giving them the ability to react to short-term market movements, plan for long-term developments and ultimately to meet consumers’ needs. JATO’s data has also been adapted for consumer use in motoring web portals where customers can see the advantages and disadvantages of a specified model against any other while major leasing companies use JATO data to drive the vehicle quotation process. Visit JATO at www.jato.com

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