According to CSM Worldwide, the market leader in automotive forecasting and market intelligence, Western European passenger car sales in October reached 1.21 million units, an eye-opening increase of 5.8% in comparison to the same month in 2006. As a result, ten-month accumulated sales across the region reached 12.56 million units, rising 1.2% year-over-year.
Looking forward, the West European SAAR (seasonally adjusted annualised selling rate) indicates full-year passenger car sales reaching 14.7 million units, a stable increase over last year’s results that struggled towards a level of stagnation.
October sales demand reported uplifting results in the following large markets: France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Aggregated demand in these markets reported 63.000 incremental units vs. last October, up 10%. As a result, ten-month accumulated sales are up 4.3%, reaching a total volume of 7.27 million units.
The car market in Italy continues to outshine all others in 2007. New domestic model launches and high optimism with regards to economic developments have paved the way to rising vehicle sales. Year-to-date sales continue to increase at 7.1%, representing an incremental volume of 140.000 units. Once again, strong demand was favourable October, up 9.9%. The full-year selling rate suggests the market will report sales of 2.46 million units, confirming an optimistic full year outlook.
Demand in Germany will not recover in 2007 from the 3% VAT rise, which has hit the market very hard. Moreover, October 2007 sales decreased 4.0%, contributing towards a disappointing year-to-date result, down 7.4%. The full-year selling rate projects the market toward 3.17 million units, down 8.3% vs. 2006. As a result, sales will stumble backwards towards demand levels reached over ten years ago.
Sales in France rose 9.1% in October building upon the solid demand of 8.2% during 3Q, and are contributing towards a positive growth rate of 1.2% year-over-year. The market had been weak during the first semester, however strong demand in July 2007 turned demand favourably. Full-year sales target 2.0 million units, up 1.9% vs. 2006.
Lastly, in the UK, car sales continue upbeat and rose 8.4% in October. Sales have clearly strengthened since 1Q 2007, after posting eight consecutive quarters of negative growth rates, which in turn allowed for two disappointing years. Car sales have reached 2.1 million units, which include 50.000 units of incremental volume. The full-year selling rate projects the market toward 2.41 million units, up 2.9% vs. 2006.
Other markets reporting positive year-over-year demand are: Norway (22%), Sweden (6.1%), Greece (5.4%) and the Netherlands (4.9%).
CSM Worldwide provides trusted automotive market forecasting services and strategic advisory solutions to the world’s top automotive manufacturers, suppliers and financial organizations. CSM Worldwide covers the global automotive environment from Detroit, Grand Rapids, São Paulo, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Budapest, Delhi, Bangkok, Shanghai and Tokyo.
