The European Car Manufacturers Association has released its March numbers for Europe. At first glance, they are promising: New car registrations in the EU (as defined in Brussels) were 10.8 percent higher than in the same month of 2009. In the EU27 plus EFTA (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) registrations rose 11.1 percent. From here on, we will use the EU27 plus EFTA definition, just like the industry usually does.
A lot of the growth is the last hurrah caused by expiring cash-for-clunkers programs. Then, there is the Ford surprise, which we had been tracking since yesterday.
Most countries in Europe recovered from the doomsday levels of early 2009. However, registrations are still more than 9 percent below the first quarter of 2008. In Europe, the difference between gloom or doom is caused by government incentive programs. In Germany, where the Abwrackprämie had caused a huge boom last year, registrations shrank by 26.6 percent to 294,375 units in March. As mentioned before, it will get worse. The UK suddenly accounted for almost 400,000 new cars, or 26.6 percent more than in 2009. The UK displaced Italy as Europe’s largest car market in March. Germany, traditionally Europe’s largest market, is defending its #2 position against Italy. For the first three quarters, Germany is still in the #1 spot, but Italy is only 4179 cars behind.
Why the sudden jump in the UK? Bangers for cash is running out. Likewise, most programs in Europe will be phased out in 2010. This explains the run on cars in Italy (up 19.6 percent), France (up 17.9 percent) and Spain (+63.1 percent compared an absolutely miserable March 2009.) Results in other European markets are mixed, see table.
| Europe’s Largest Car Markets March 2010 | ||||||
| March | March | % Chg | Jan – Mar | Jan – Mar | % Chg | |
| ’10 | ’09 | 10/09 | ’10 | ’09 | 10/09 | |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 397,383 | 313,912 | +26.6 | 611,548 | 480,358 | +27.3 |
| GERMANY | 294,375 | 400,965 | -26.6 | 670,410 | 868,090 | -22.8 |
| ITALY | 257,694 | 215,443 | +19.6 | 666,231 | 540,223 | +23.3 |
| FRANCE | 242,707 | 205,823 | +17.9 | 594,720 | 508,559 | +16.9 |
| SPAIN | 124,756 | 76,501 | +63.1 | 286,167 | 197,993 | +44.5 |
| BELGIUM | 64,330 | 50,258 | +28.0 | 161,297 | 143,852 | +12.1 |
| NETHERLANDS | 45,216 | 34,532 | +30.9 | 145,535 | 124,634 | +16.8 |
| AUSTRIA | 33,270 | 26,477 | +25.7 | 75,938 | 64,296 | +18.1 |
| POLAND | 29,343 | 31,098 | -5.6 | 79,083 | 87,963 | -10.1 |
| SWEDEN | 25,652 | 18,035 | +42.2 | 59,147 | 43,937 | +34.6 |
| PORTUGAL | 23,860 | 12,758 | +87.0 | 53,777 | 31,783 | +69.2 |
| GREECE | 19,053 | 13,372 | +42.5 | 59,365 | 49,211 | +20.6 |
| CZECH REPUBLIC | 17,446 | 12,410 | +40.6 | 39,339 | 31,075 | +26.6 |
| IRELAND | 13,813 | 7,764 | +77.9 | 42,554 | 32,447 | +31.1 |
| DENMARK | 11,282 | 9,858 | +14.4 | 30,564 | 25,095 | +21.8 |
| FINLAND | 9,108 | 10,741 | -15.2 | 29,084 | 29,493 | -1.4 |
| SLOVENIA | 5,895 | 5,360 | +10.0 | 15,748 | 14,648 | +7.5 |
| LUXEMBURG | 5,806 | 4,768 | +21.8 | 13,423 | 12,090 | +11.0 |
| SLOVAKIA | 5,397 | 6,488 | -16.8 | 11,790 | 12,696 | -7.1 |
| HUNGARY | 4,371 | 9,356 | -53.3 | 10,181 | 22,650 | -55.1 |
| ROMANIA | 4,027 | 8,124 | -50.4 | 8,819 | 29,126 | -69.7 |
| BULGARIA | 1,250 | 2,202 | -43.2 | 3,356 | 6,100 | -45.0 |
| ESTONIA | 653 | 824 | -20.8 | 1,599 | 2,572 | -37.8 |
| LITHUANIA | 501 | 629 | -20.3 | 1,375 | 1,899 | -27.6 |
| LATVIA | 290 | 372 | -22.0 | 821 | 1,309 | -37.3 |
| EUROPEAN UNION (EU27) | 1,637,478 | 1,478,070 | +10.8 | 3,671,871 | 3,362,099 | +9.2 |
| SWITZERLAND | 27,307 | 23,664 | +15.4 | 64,565 | 59,111 | +9.2 |
| NORWAY | 11,486 | 7,601 | +51.1 | 30,277 | 19,241 | +57.4 |
| ICELAND | 156 | 73 | +113.7 | 321 | 290 | +10.7 |
| EFTA | 38,949 | 31,338 | +24.3 | 95,163 | 78,642 | +21.0 |
| EU27+EFTA | 1,676,427 | 1,509,408 | +11.1 | 3,767,034 | 3,440,741 | +9.5 |
Now, for the Ford story. Of course it’s bunk. The Volkswagen Group remains Europe’s largest car maker, with a 19.8 percent share (down 0.4 from March 09), followed by PSA (13 percent) and, whoa, Ford: With an 11.8 percent share, Ford has kicked Renault (9.9 percent) off the podium and is in #3 position.
As we told you yesterday, be careful when you read today’s news. Lo and behold, the Freep headlines “Ford beats VW, takes No. 1 spot in Europe.” Not to be outdone, the DetN misleads with “Ford takes top spot in Europe for March.” As demonstrated above, it’s nonsense. With a small grain of truth in the nonsense.
If you would look at single brands only (which nobody in his or her right mind does,) you would notice that the Ford brand (without Volvo) sold 171,122 units in the Europe as defined above. The Volkswagen brand (without Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and the ones I forgot) alone sold 171,604 cars. Ouch, VW is 482 cars ahead of Ford. Ok, let’s drop Iceland, Norway and Switzerland off the European map and count the 27 EU countries only: Hooray! Ford sold 168,611 units, Volkswagen 167,313 units: Ford is ahead by 1,298 cars and is declared Europe’s largest brand in March. Let’s not talk about the first quarter, that would distract.
The whole exercise is a propaganda ploy, meant to sidetrack the unwitting reader who isn’t trained in the semantic nuances of “brand” versus “manufacturer.” If I would be doing Ford’s PR, I would announce proudly that Ford has kicked Renault off the podium, which is quite a feat in itself. Doing so would stop nitpickers like myself from dismantling the smoke and mirrors, and I could spend my time praising Ford for the good job they have clearly done.
It’s most likely short-lived. The current jockeying is caused by scrappage programs. Ford is strong in the UK, a stronger UK makes for a stronger Ford. And once Volvo has departed to Geely, Ford Europe will have to live without the 1.5 percent market share Volvo still enjoyed in Europe in March.
| Europe’s Largest Car Makers March 2010 | |||||
| %Share | Units | Units | % Chg | ||
| +0.0 | +0.0 | +0.0 | +0.0 | +0.0 | |
| ALL BRANDS | 1,676,427 | 1,509,408 | +11.1 | ||
| VW Group | 19.8 | 20.2 | 331,891 | 304,670 | +8.9 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | 10.2 | 10.4 | 171,604 | 156,962 | +9.3 |
| AUDI | 4.3 | 4.2 | 72,417 | 62,949 | +15.0 |
| SEAT | 2.1 | 2.2 | 35,459 | 32,658 | +8.6 |
| SKODA | 3.1 | 3.4 | 52,131 | 51,857 | +0.5 |
| Others (1) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 280 | 244 | +14.8 |
| PSA Group | 13.0 | 12.0 | 218,552 | 181,234 | +20.6 |
| PEUGEOT | 7.2 | 6.6 | 120,455 | 100,028 | +20.4 |
| CITROEN | 5.9 | 5.4 | 98,097 | 81,206 | +20.8 |
| FORD Group | 11.8 | 11.0 | 198,143 | 165,597 | +19.7 |
| FORD | 10.2 | 9.6 | 171,122 | 144,857 | +18.1 |
| VOLVO | 1.6 | 1.4 | 27,021 | 20,740 | +30.3 |
| RENAULT Group | 9.9 | 8.2 | 165,239 | 124,110 | +33.1 |
| RENAULT | 8.0 | 7.0 | 134,227 | 104,912 | +27.9 |
| DACIA | 1.8 | 1.3 | 31,012 | 19,198 | +61.5 |
| FIAT Group | 8.0 | 9.1 | 133,758 | 137,372 | -2.6 |
| FIAT | 6.6 | 7.6 | 109,942 | 114,283 | -3.8 |
| LANCIA | 0.8 | 0.7 | 13,144 | 11,123 | +18.2 |
| ALFA ROMEO | 0.6 | 0.7 | 9,826 | 11,129 | -11.7 |
| Others (2) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 846 | 837 | +1.1 |
| GM Group | 8.8 | 9.3 | 148,141 | 140,974 | +5.1 |
| OPEL/VAUXHALL | 7.5 | 7.8 | 125,199 | 118,009 | +6.1 |
| CHEVROLET | 1.2 | 1.2 | 20,721 | 18,263 | +13.5 |
| SAAB | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2,049 | 4,521 | -54.7 |
| GM (US) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 172 | 181 | -5.0 |
| BMW Group | 5.0 | 4.9 | 84,043 | 73,678 | +14.1 |
| BMW | 4.0 | 3.9 | 67,496 | 59,219 | +14.0 |
| MINI | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16,547 | 14,459 | +14.4 |
| TOYOTA Group | 4.2 | 5.4 | 71,114 | 82,151 | -13.4 |
| TOYOTA | 4.1 | 5.3 | 68,569 | 79,442 | -13.7 |
| LEXUS | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2,545 | 2,709 | -6.1 |
| DAIMLER | 4.3 | 4.6 | 71,621 | 69,161 | +3.6 |
| MERCEDES | 3.7 | 4.0 | 62,011 | 59,663 | +3.9 |
| SMART | 0.6 | 0.6 | 9,610 | 9,498 | +1.2 |
| NISSAN | 2.6 | 2.0 | 43,428 | 30,594 | +41.9 |
| HYUNDAI | 2.8 | 2.5 | 46,620 | 37,367 | +24.8 |
| KIA | 1.9 | 1.7 | 31,645 | 25,348 | +24.8 |
| HONDA | 1.8 | 2.3 | 29,994 | 35,075 | -14.5 |
| SUZUKI | 1.4 | 2.0 | 24,270 | 29,472 | -17.7 |
| MAZDA | 1.7 | 1.8 | 29,115 | 27,467 | +6.0 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16,910 | 12,420 | +36.2 |
| LAND ROVER | 0.8 | 0.6 | 12,901 | 8,409 | +53.4 |
| JAGUAR | 0.2 | 0.3 | 4,009 | 4,011 | -0.0 |
| MITSUBISHI | 0.6 | 0.8 | 10,243 | 11,563 | -11.4 |
| CHRYSLER | 0.3 | 0.4 | 5,103 | 5,855 | -12.8 |
| OTHER | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16,597 | 15,300 | +8.5 |
| EU27 + EFTA | |||||
For your data slicing and dicing, facts and figures can be downloaded as PDF here, and as Excel spreadsheet here.
When Ford hits $30 per share, I’M RETIRING.
Fascinating info Bertel, I’ve often wondered about the Euro breakout.
It’s interesting that the market is so fragmented by country yet they get so many more interesting cars than the US, I guess if you don’t sell so many full size trucks, you have room to fill the gap with other cars.
17k for JLR?????
who knew?
17k for JLR?????
who knew?
Not so surprising for us car fans living in the UK – they’ve been on a roll here ever since the launch of the ’06 XK, and the XF had a sizeable waiting list from launch.
This always struck me as a little sad for Ford: they fumbled Jag’s turn around at first, stomached most of the losses from that, and then finally when they get some traction with a new direction, and Jaguar are selling some of the most exciting cars in their segments… Ford sell up.
Nice to see it all laid out so clearly Bertel – thank you. One puzzler though: that last table appears on first glance to be sorted by over all share, but the FIAT group (8.0% over all) is placed ahead of the GM group (8.8% over all), Toyota (4.2%) ahead of Daimler (4.3%) and Nissan (2.6% since they’re not shown bundled under Renault) ahead of Hyundai (2.8%)
Is this a glitch or am I missing something?
That’s how ACEA sorted it … did not touch it.
So Ford, as a brand, is not only ahead in the made-up EU19 metric, but in EU27 as well. Technically that’s not a bad effort at all, and the mainstream media won’t even think about reporting anything but “Ford #1 OMG!!”
I wouldn’t say that people don’t look at individual brands. It is done all the time. It also appears that Ford was correct when they said they were the #1 brand in Europe, the Euro 19 and the Euro 27. I think it is a good accomplishment for Ford, but I agree that it may not last long if the UK doesn’t have its scrap program going on much longer.
To me, it looks like the story isn’t bunk at all. Ford said #1 brand, looks like they were right.
“I wouldn’t say that people don’t look at individual brands. It is done all the time.”
+1 that is the very purpose of brands.
Guys, as long as you are all aware of the difference between maker and brand, all is fine. A lot of people aren’t. The line that Ford was the “No.2 best-selling car brand in Europe” in 2008 turned it wrongly into the “second largest automaker in Europe” in Wikipedia. It’s been the second largest automaker in Europe in Wikipedia until a few minutes ago. I just updated the page with the correct ranking (#3 by end of 2009) and the correct source. Let’s see how long it stays there.
Before we know it, Ford will be Europe’s largest automaker in Wikipedia, based on this bogus fluff. I’ve done car advertising for more than 30 years, and I know every dirty trick in the book. This is one of them.
Seems you’re just the guy Chrysler needs now – how would you spin their current sales success?
Italy’s largest auto maker.
Bravo.
The Detroit News link covers all the relevant information. Thanks for the link, Bertel.
Ingvar Sviggum, vice president of marketing, sales and service for Ford of Europe, said: “Attaining the No.1 position in the European market for March and being No.2 year-to-date — despite the continuing aggressive discounting we have seen from some competitors — is a great testament to the hard work of the Ford team and especially our dealers across Europe who have done an outstanding job in supporting and satisfying their customers.”
Did you expect him to say, “Being No. 1 is due to the expiring UK scrappage programs, and we expect to fall back to No. 3 in April”?