What do the European car market and crabs have in common? Both move sideways. In October, new car registrations in the EU were down a tiny bit, minus 1.8 percent, says the European manufacturers association ACEA. January to October produces likewise uneventful numbers: For the year, 11,126,436 new cars changed hands in the EU, that is 1.2 percent less than in the first ten months of 2010.
As far as manufacturers go, more of the same. Volkswagen is gaining market share. The French brands are shedding points. The Americans are treading water. Fiat is down. The Japanese are still suffering post-tsunami syndrome, with the exception of Nissan. Hyundai and Kia up a bit. “Non-European” brands (Opel and Ford are perceived as European) don’t get beyond a market share of around 15 percent, where they have been for as long as I can remember.
Complete data are available as PDF and as Excel spreadsheet.
