Ho pensato di raggruppare in un solo topic i dati mensili dell'Acea.
European car sales advanced a seventh consecutive month as new models to replace aging vehicles and an economic rebound boosted demand at Renault SA (RNO), Ford Motor Co. (F) and PSA Peugeot Citroen. (UG)
Registrations in March jumped 10 percent to 1.49 million vehicles, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association, or ACEA, said today. First-quarter sales increased 8.1 percent to 3.35 million cars.
Deliveries are rising as consumer confidence in Europe strengthens and the sovereign-debt crisis recedes in Spain, Greece and Portugal. The European Commission is forecasting the economy of countries sharing the euro will grow 1.2 percent in 2014, following a recession that ended early last year. Sales rose 29 percent in March at Renault, 14 percent at Ford and 11 percent at Peugeot and 8.4 percent at Volkswagen.
“The numbers for the first quarter and in particular for March are superb,” Hans-Peter Wodniok, an analyst at Fairesearch GmbH in Kronberg, Germany, said by phone. “There will be more moderate growth in the months and quarters to come.”
Renault, Europe’s third-biggest carmaker by deliveries, rose as much as 1.5 percent and was trading up 1.2 percent at 72.87 euros as of 9:07 a.m. in Paris. Peugeot stock gained 0.9 percent to 13.28 euros.
Photographer: Balint Porneczi/Bloomberg
Renault SA automobiles, manufactured in Turkey, are seen on the dockside after being... Read More
Dacia Surge
European sales growth at Renault, based in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, was propelled by a 51 percent surge at the low-cost Dacia division, which has revamped its Duster sport-utility vehicle and Sandero hatchback. The Captur crossover, introduced about a year ago, helped Renault-brand sales rise 23 percent.
“There is a big recovery coming in Europe,” Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said in an interview on April 15 at the opening of a plant by Japanese automotive partner Nissan Motor Co. (7201) in Resende, Brazil.
The Peugeot brand posted a 13 percent jump in European sales, while demand at the Citroen marque rose 8.5 percent. The Paris-based automaker, the second-largest in the region, is reorganizing to restore profit after two years of losses. The company said this month that it will add production of the Peugeot 2008 compact SUV as the model garnered 120,000 orders.
DS Brand
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares outlined plans this week to reduce the group’s product line-up by almost half while the Citroen unit’s DS badge will be upgraded into a separate premium brand. Peugeot is targeting automotive-unit operating profit at 2 percent of sales by 2018, with the margin widening to 5 percent in the 2019-2023 period, he said.
The industrywide gain in March was the biggest since December. Sales rose in the five biggest markets, with jumps of 18 percent in the U.K., which holds second place in the region, and 10 percent in Spain, which ranks fifth. Deliveries in Germany, the largest European auto market, rose 5.4 percent. Wage growth in the U.K. has been accelerating, government figures released yesterday showed.
“These British guys seem to be mad about new cars,” Wodniok said. “This is really the driving force when you look at the other large European markets.”
European sales by Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen, the region’s biggest carmaker, increased 8.4 percent, lagging behind the industrywide gain as demand rose 5 percent at the namesake brand and 7.6 percent at the Audi luxury division.
GM’s Gain
Detroit-based General Motors Co. (GM)’s deliveries in the region increased 7 percent because of a 15 percent increase at the Opel and Vauxhall brands. Demand at Turin, Italy-based Fiat SpA (F) gained 4.2 percent, helped by a 32 percent surge at the Jeep SUV brand.
Opel is likely to expand deliveries in the region faster than competitors this year as models such as the Adam city car attract buyers new to the brand, Karl-Thomas Neumann, head of the Ruesselsheim, Germany-based division, said in early March.
Vehicles on European roads have been in use for an average seven to eight years, unusually long for the market, Stephen Odell, head of Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford’s business in the region, said in January.
The shift of the Easter holiday into April this year from March in 2013 contributed to increased demand. Price cuts in Germany amounted to 11.6 percent last month, with an average 13.5 percent discount offered at Fiat dealers, 13.2 percent at Ford and 13 percent at the French manufacturers, trade publication Autohaus PulsSchlag reported.
‘Tactical’ Pricing
“There are some positive signs of underlying, organic industry growth in the first quarter,” Allan Rushforth, head of the European division of Seoul-based Hyundai Motor Co., said in an e-mail. “But the hangover from economic risks and carmakers’ tactical actions means it’s still too early to start celebrating a full market recovery.”
Hyundai’s sales in the region rose 4.8 percent last month, while its Kia Motors Corp. (000270) subsidiary posted a 10 percent jump. Japanese manufacturer Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), the world’s biggest carmaker, sold 5 percent more cars in Europe as demand at the Lexus premium division jumped 37 percent.
Group sales in the region by Munich-based Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, rose 6 percent as an 11 percent gain at the main BMW brand more than made up for a 14 percent drop at the Mini small-car marque, which is updating its model line. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, which ranks third in global premium-vehicle sales after BMW and VW’s Audi, posted a 6.9 percent increase in Europe last month, while the Smart city-car nameplate’s deliveries fell 9 percent.
The ACEA compiles figures from the 28-country European Union, excluding Malta, as well as numbers from Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
Automotive executives are predicting industrywide European car sales, which reached a two-decade low in 2013, will expand by about 2 percent this year. Ford has estimated gains of as much as 6 percent in its main markets. Peugeot raised its regional market forecast this week, predicting growth of 3 percent versus an earlier prediction of a 2 percent increase.
http://acea.be/uploads/press_releases_f ... L-1403.pdf
In marzo il mercato europeo dell'auto ha registrato un balzo del 10,6% e nel primo quadrimestre le vendite sono salite dell' 8,4%. Ripeto che partiamo sempre da livelli bassissimi, quindi non c'è molto da festeggiare però la luce alla fine del tunnel è chiaramente visibile.
Da settembre 2013 ci sono stati solo segni più e la crescita della domanda non è accesa dalla cosiddetta guerra dei prezzi ma dalla necessità di rimpiazzare il parco auto ormai troppo vecchio.
Tra i vari costruttori balza all'occhio a marzo il balzo del 30,4% di Renault Group con Dacia ormai quasi al 3% del mercato e Renault che vola del 23,4%.
Dovrebbero fare una statua a Schweitzer che ad inizio 2000 contro tutto e tutti decise di tentare la carta low cost.
Nel gruppo vw il marchio omonimo non fa faville mentre Audi, Seat e Skoda crescono più della media del mercato.
Ford sta accelerando con un +12,8% nel primo trimestre e grazie alle molte novità ( focus restyling, Mondeo, S-Max, Ecosport, Mustang e Edge) dovrebbe continuare a fiorire.
Nell'ambito di Gm Opel sta andando bene (grazie alla Mokka mentre crollano Astra, Zafira e Meriva e la Adam va male) mentre l'annunciato ritiro di Chevrolet dall'Europa sta chiaramente mostrando i suoi effetti.
Daimler e Bmw crescono ma sono zavorrate da Smart e Mini che stanno lanciando le loro nuove versioni.
Fiat sale del 2,8% nel primo trimestre, Maserati sta crescendo molto vigorosamente.
Toyota progredisce grazie alla Lexus e ad Auris e Rav4, Volvo sale del 16,5% a marzo mentre Hyundai perde qualche punto decimale.