European car sales suffer steep June drop
European car sales slumped 7.8 per cent last month as Nissan, Fiat Chrysler and Volvo suffered the biggest revenue losses.
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Registrations dropped to 1.45m units in June, according to the Association of European Carmakers (AEC), the worst decline since December.
The AEC blamed two fewer working days compared to 2018 for the fall.
Major EU car markets all saw declines, with France’s minus 8.4 per cent and Spain’s 8.3 per cent drop the worst of them all.
The UK posted a 4.9 per cent fall to 223,400 car sales. Germany saw sales drop 4.7 per cent to 325,200.
While the AEC blamed June’s drop on fewer working days, the industry’s weak performance saw sales across the first half of 2019 fall 3.1 per cent compared to the same period of 2018.
Nissan’s sales have plunged 25.6 per cent in June to just 34,000 cars, while Volvo dropped 22 per cent to sell 28,200 units.
Fiat Chrysler’s sales sank almost 14 per cent and Honda saw a drop of 15.4 per cent.
It follows a profit warning last week from Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler, which warned on recall costs and allegations of emissions-tampering on diesel engines.
Meanwhile BMW fell to its first automotive loss in 10 years in May.
The car industry is undergoing seismic change at the moment, as a sector-wide transition to electric vehicles and batteries is hampered by falling sales.
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Weakening China demand amid the US-China trade war as well as the growing unpopularity of diesel are both factors behind the industry turmoil.
Car makers are pouring $300bn into electric cars over the next decade, while Jaguar Land Rover has vowed to invest almost £1bn into building electric vehicles in the UK.