Greece’s debt default saga seems never-ending. And it is tempting to hope that it only matters to those suffering in Greece and the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain). But a look at auto sales trends since 2005 gives a different picture. As the chart shows, based on ACEA data, sales in the 5 […]
Chemicals and the Economy
EU auto sales top USA and China in 2009
Almost unnoticed, the EU became the largest regional auto market last year. Thanks to the support of scrappage programmes (particularly Germany’s €5bn scheme) it sold 14.4 million autos, compared to just 10.4m in the USA and 13.6m in China. W Europe continued to see higher sales than Central Europe, due to greater government support. But […]
US auto sales in 2009 at 1982 level
US auto sales last year at 10.4 million were the worst since 1982. Even this figure was slightly artificial, due to the support provided by the $3bn ‘cash for clunkers’ programme in the summer. This impact can be seen in the chart, with total volumes (black line) picking up again in December under the impact […]
Obama gets tough on US auto industry
There had been speculation that President Obama’s mid-West background might tempt him to take a soft line on the troubled automotive industry. But his comments on Thursday that there has been “a lot of mismanagement of the auto industry over the past several years”, suggested this was unlikely. Today’s news confirms it: • GM’s CEO […]
European auto sales slide continues
European auto sales fell 25% in January, according to JD Power. This equals an annualised rate of just 11m cars, the lowest since the early 1990’s. 13.6m were sold in 2008. And although the forecaster hopes for some improvement later in the year, it suggests that “a late 2010 recovery is the most likely timing”. […]
European auto sales to fall 16% in 2009
European auto sales fell 8.4% in 2008, versus 2007. Sales of 13.56m autos were just ahead of the USA’s 13.2m. European volumes continue on a worsening trend, with December down 19% versus last year: • Spanish sales were down 50% • Sweden was down 45% • The UK was down 21% • The Netherlands were […]
European auto sales fall 8%
Europe is the world’s largest auto manufacturer, accounting for 32% of the global market. So news that European auto sales fell 8.3% last month, compared to 2007, is worrying. Italy’s sales fell 20%, and were today described as ‘disastrous’ by CEO Sergio Marchionne, who announced that 4 of their 6 plants will shut for 3 […]
Jump to page: