The European car market fell 7.4% in February, penalized by regulatory changes, and French manufacturers suffered more than their foreign competitors even before the impact of the coronavirus which promises to be violent from March, according to figures released Wednesday.
As in January, the Renault group (with Alpine, Dacia, Lada) did almost half as well as the average, with deliveries down 14.3%. Its French rival PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Vauxhall), down 8.9%, fared slightly less, according to data published by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers. (ACEA).
About 957,000 new passenger cars were put on the roads of the European Union in February. The four main markets, Germany (-10.8%), Italy (-8.8%), Spain (-6%) and France (-2.7%) were in the red.
Brexit requires, the ACEA now compiles its statistics for the EU outside the United Kingdom, by restating the figures for 2019 to allow comparisons from one year to the next. In the first two months of the year, the drop in the automobile market also reached 7.4%.
The market is suffering from the backlash of registrations which were anticipated at the end of last year, on the one hand to sell polluting vehicles before the entry into force of European ceilings restricting CO2 for manufacturers, on the other hand to dodge an increase in car taxation in several countries including France, from January 1.
But ACEA also noted " a weakening of the world economic situation ", even before the impact of the containment measures taken in Europe in recent days to fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.
The major European markets (Germany, France, Italy, Spain) are now paralyzed and the main manufacturing sites are shutdown or about to be shutdown for an indefinite period. An even more brutal tumble is announced from March. In similar circumstances, the Chinese market fell nearly 80% in February.
After six consecutive years of growth, ACEA, which had hitherto counted on a 2% decline in European registrations in 2020, will therefore have to revise its forecasts.
Among manufacturers, the Volkswagen group (-5.3%) further strengthened its first European place in February, with a market share of 25.1% (+0.6 point). It benefits from the success of the new SUV models (leisure 4x4) from its Spanish subsidiary Seat (+ 9.2%).
On the French side, PSA is suffering from the fall of its Opel brand (-23%), weighed down by the cessation of the marketing of several models to strengthen its profitability. The group remains in second place in Europe, with a market share of 17.6% (-0.3 point).
Despite its sharp drop, Renault still completes the podium, securing 10.5% of the market (-0.8 points). Deliveries of the diamond brand fell 6.9% while those of its low-cost subsidiary Dacia plunged (-27.3%).
