You never meet a shy and retiring car salesman. They are always bursting with confidence, about to sell you a tremendous deal. So we have to expect that the companies are always going to be confident about the future – even when it looks unpromising to everyone else. 2008 is close enough, that we can […]
Chemicals and the Economy
Discounts support EU auto sales as Paris plans diesel car ban
A mild winter, combined with 20% price discounts, has kept EU auto sales in growth mode. Latest data from ACEA shows January sales at 999k were the best for the month since 2011’s 1.042m. The chart above shows the 12-month trend line since 2005, to avoid seasonal fluctuations with the monthly data (blue line): Sales were […]
GM focuses on low-cost autos, as European sales remain weak
Low growth and low-cost have become the dominant features of Europe’s auto market. Europe’s modest rise in auto sales continued in June, with volumes up 4.5% versus 2013. But as the auto association reminds us, this “is the second lowest level in the month of June since reporting began in 2003“. And the detail of the […]
European auto markets head in a new direction
The European auto market continues at 20-year lows, with sales down 4% in January – September. Whilst September’s sales appeared stronger, up 5% versus 2012, this was only due to Spain and the UK. Spain boosted volume by 10k due to a €2.7k ($3.7k) government hand-out for people trading in an older vehicle. Whilst UK volumes were up 40k due to a credit […]
EU auto sales at lowest-ever level, with average car used only 1 hour per day
Europe goes on holiday during August, so we have to wait – with not quite breathless anticipation – until September to see official ACEA auto sales figures for July and August. Unfortunately, they contained no real surprises. July (red square) managed a small increase versus 2012 levels (green line), but August sales then fell back […]
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