New figures released yesterday (16th April) have shown that European car sales suffered another decline in the first quarter of 2009.

The ACEA European car makers' association has suggested that sales fell by 17.2 per cent during the three-month period as manufacturers struggled with growing debts.

Furthermore, new car sales decreased for the 11th consecutive month in March, although the figure of nine per cent on a year-on-year basis was less dramatic than in previous months.

In western Europe, recent government incentives providing cash for consumers who trade in old cars for scrap in exchange for newer, cleaner models helped stem the declines.

Although new passenger car registrations in March fell by eight per cent to 1.43 million units, Germany - the region's biggest market - saw a 39.9 per cent increase, while French sales increased by eight per cent.

A small rise of 0.2 per cent was recorded in Italy but the association confirmed that British and Spanish sales plunged by 30.5 per cent and 38.7 per cent respectively, despite March traditionally being a strong month.

Figures for Q1 2009 showed that registrations were down by 16.3 per cent in Europe, with Germany (increase of 18 per cent) again the only market to post positive growth.

Spain (down 43.1 per cent) and the UK (down 29.7 per cent) were the worst hit of the major markets, while Italy (19.1 per cent) and France (3.9 per cent) also suffered declines.

In the smaller markets, Luxembourg (down 10.4 per cent), Switzerland (down 12.3 per cent), Austria (down 12.9 per cent), Belgium (down 15.3 per cent), Ireland (down 64.9 per cent) and Iceland (down 91.3 per cent) all added to the trend.

The ACEA's figures for March also showed that 76,803 new cars were registered in the new EU member states, representing a year-on-year decline of 25.4 per cent.

Poland and the Czech Republic posted growth of 2.5 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively, while Slovakia's recent advent of a car scrapping scheme led to a strong 18.2 per cent increase.

In terms of first-quarter performance, Poland - the biggest market - saw registrations increase by 1.3 per cent to 87,939 units, while Latvia (down 77.9 per cent) was the worst affected.

Volkswagen enjoyed the most successful quarter in Europe of the major automakers, but registrations still dropped by 9.4 per cent to 714,453 units.

Sources:

European car sales tumble (16/04/09)PASSENGER CARS: European market down 17.2% in first quarter 2009 (16/04/09)