Japan Auto Sales Plunge Record 37% as Quake Deters Buyers, Shuts Factories (01/04/11)

Japan's car makers saw sales plummet by record margins in March after the earthquake and tsunami shut factories and deterred buyers.

Sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, were down 37 percent from a year earlier to 279,389 vehicles in March, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, led the record drop, selling 110,667 units excluding Lexus-brand cars, a drop of 46 per cent.

Japan's second-largest carmaker, Nissan, fell 38 per cent to 45,700, while sales at Honda dropped 28 percent to 43,329 units.

After an 11 per cent rise in sales in 2010, the dealers association predicts there could be a 13 per cent drop this year.

Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, said: "Consumer confidence is falling all across Japan, not only in the areas hit by the quake. Sales were on a downward trend to begin with, and the quake just made it even more difficult to predict what will happen."

UPDATE 2-French car sales rise 6.1 pct in March-CCFA (01/04/11)

New car sales in France rose 6.1 per cent in March, according to the automakers' association CCFA.

March was the last month for the country's car scrappage scheme that allowed owners to trade in their old vehicles for new ones.

CCFA President Patrick Blain predicted that the French car market will perform better than expected, following a "very satisfying" first three months to the year.

PSA Peugeot Citroen witnessed sales rise 13.5 percent while Renault was hit with supply problems and saw its sales fall 12.4 percent.
Renault's own brand car sales dipped eight per cent, while its low-cost Dacia models were down 26.5 per cent.

Overall passenger car sales rose 8.9 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Sales of light commercial vehicles were up 4.7 percent in March, and 8.6 per cent for the quarter, CCFA said.

Indian Auto Makers Post Strong Sales (01/04/11)

Indian car sales climbed 30 per cent in the past year, the strongest pace of growth in over a decade.

Sales in March were up 24 per cent, taking the total number of vehicles sold in the last fiscal year to 1.98 million, up from 1.53 million in the previous year.

However, the fast growth is expected to slow as commodity prices put the brakes on production, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

SIAM president Pawan Goenka told reporters that car sales growth would slow to 16 or 18 per cent in 2011.

Sales of trucks and buses rose 15.4 percent to 77,688 units in March, SIAM said.

WRAPUP 1-Gas-sipping cars drive March US sales gain (01/04/11)

Sales of small, energy-efficient cars drove the auto market in March, as consumers baulked at high petrol prices.

GM saw sales spike 11.4 per cent last month, while Ford witnessed a 19 per cent rise.

Both firms were confident that the Japan crisis would not have a major impact on their sales.

"The developments should not derail the recovery in the US," said Ford senior economist Jenny Lin.

Overall, auto sales finished up almost 17 per cent in March, equating to 13.11 million vehicles on an annualised basis.

Chrysler sales rose 31 per cent, Nissan 28.4 per cent, Hyundai 32 per cent, Honda 18.9 per cent and Daimler AG's Mercedes brand 12.6 per cent.

Sales at Toyota, which was affected badly by the Japan crisis, fell 9.2 per cent.

According to Ford, sales of compact and subcompact cars accounted for a quarter of the total, up from 21 per cent in the previous two months and 19 per cent in December.

UPDATE 2-Brazil March auto sales up 12 pct from Feb. (01/04/11)

Month-on-month car sales in Brazil rose 11.6 per cent in March, according to the country's Federation of Vehicle Distributors, Fenabrave.

Despite the increase from February, the 288,758 vehicles registered last month represented a 14.4 per cent fall from the same month last year.

It is thought the downturn was a result of the carnival season falling in March instead of February.

Total sales in the first quarter of 2011 rose 3.6 percent to 777,725 vehicles, according to Fenabrave.

Of the big four carmakers in Brazil, which includes Fiat and Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors saw the biggest upward swings between February and March and the largest falls versus March 2010.

Germany: Car registrations continue to rise in March (05/04/11)

Car sales in Germany continued to show a strong upward trend, rising 11 per cent year-on-year in March, according to the auto industry federation VDA.

Following a 15 per cent year-on-year increase in February, 328,100 units were sold last month, up from 294,375 in March 2010.

Argentina's March Auto Output Jumps 68% On Month, 34% On Year (05/04/11)

Vehicle production in Argentina soared in March, up 68 per cent on February and 34 per cent year-on-year, according to the Argentine Automobile Manufacturers Association (Adefa).

Automakers produced 70,487 cars in March, up from 42,051 in February and 52,669 a year earlier, as domestic sales rose 29 per cent year-on-year.

Exports also increased, with the bulk of these (83 per cent) going to Brazil. Europe accounted for 6.6 per cent and Uruguay 3.2 per cent.

New car sales fell 7.9% in March, says SMMT (06/04/11)

UK car sales in March fell 7.9 per cent on the same month last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Registrations in the first quarter of 2011 were down 8.7 per cent compared with the first three months of 2010.

The 366,101 new registrations in March were well below the month average of 450,000 between 2004 and 2008.

Ford's Fiesta and Focus models were the best selling vehicles, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa.

Sales of cars and LCVs in Russia up 77% (08/04/11)

Russia is proving an increasingly important market for automakers as sales of cars and light commercial vehicles rose 77 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2011.

March also saw a 77 per cent jump, as 223,429 units were sold, bringing the total for the first quarter to 517,304 cars, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB).

Lada increased sales by 69 per cent to 121,251 units, while Renault (93 per cent), Chevrolet (51 per cent), Kia (71 per cent), and Nissan (160 per cent) also saw car sales rise sharply.

"The rapid rebound in the Russian market continued in March. Looking forward, the year-on-year increases will lessen, reflecting the inclusion of scrappage sales in the corresponding base period for 2010," said Mark Ovenden, deputy chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee.

China’s March Car Sales ‘Below’ Expectations as Incentives End (10/04/11)

Passenger car sales in China grew during March, but not at the rate analysts were predicting.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the number of new passenger vehicles sent to dealerships rose 6.52 per cent from a year earlier to 1.3 million units.

"The overall vehicle sales growth in March was below our expectations," Zhu Yiping, the association's head of statistics said.

Total vehicle sales rose 5.4 per cent last month to 1.8 million units, while sales for the first quarter increased 8.1 per cent to five million units.
 

© Adfero Ltd