European car sales fell 9pc in March
Sales of new cars in Europe fell 9.0 percent in March on a 12-month basis, a smaller decline than in previous months due to government subsidies to encourage buying, industry association ACEA said Thursday.
"Declining for the eleventh consecutive month, passenger car registrations in Europe fell by 9.0 percent in March," the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said.
In the first quarter, sales were down by 17.2 percent compared with the same quarter last year.
In March, sales rose 39.9 percent year-on-year in Germany because of a government scheme to subsidise consumers who trade in their old cars for a new model.
Similar incentives have been put in place in France and Italy, where sales also rose, but by a smaller amount. Sales in Britain and Spain fell sharply, down 30.5 and 38.7 percent respectively.
The auto industry is one of the largest and worst-hit industrial sectors in Europe, where the recession resulted in the weakest sales in 15 years in 2008, with new car registrations plunging eight percent.
Comments