Brussels, Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Western European car sales
fell 6.2 percent in November as consumers shunned German luxury
brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz for a second consecutive
month amid stagnating economic growth and rising unemployment.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's BMW-brand sales declined 16
percent, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or
ACEA, said on its Web site. DaimlerChrysler AG's sales fell 6.7
percent, led by an 8.6 percent drop at Mercedes-Benz. Carmakers'
shares declined.
Luxury carmakers had withstood a drop in overall car demand
with the introduction of new models such as the Mercedes-Benz E-
Class and BMW 7-Series. Germany, home to the world's top two
luxury carmakers, is planning to boost a tax on company-provided
cars next year by 50 percent, which affects premium manufacturers
the most, analysts said.
BMW, the No. 2 maker of luxury cars after Mercedes-Benz, has
been hurt by falling demand for its upper mid-range 5-Series. The
carmaker will introduce a new version of the car next year, which
sells for between 32,600 euros and 54,200 euros.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars declined about 1
percent in the 10-month period ended Nov. 30, the company said.

Fiat's sales plunged 22 percent to 82,031 vehicles in
November, as demand for its Stilo and Punto models plummeted. The
Turin, Italy-based carmaker, facing its worst crisis in a decade,
is selling assets as well as cutting staff and production to save
1 billion euros.

The sales of Japanese carmakers, including Toyota Motor
Corp., increased 13 percent in November to 120,708 vehicles.
Korean carmakers sales dropped 22 percent to 22,954. Collectively,
Japanese manufacturers market share increased almost 2 percentage
points to 11.4 percent in November.

Mazda Motor Corp.'s November sales in the region surged 33
percent to 13,600 vehicles. Mitsubishi Motors Corp., more than a
third owned by DaimlerChrysler, sales jumped 25 percent, while
Honda Motor Co.'s sales rose 11 percent.
New Car sales in November declined 6.9 percent in Germany,
9.4 percent in France and 6.8 percent in the U.K. Italian sales
posted a gain of 1.3 percent, while Swedish sales increased 5.2
percent and Finnish sales gained 10 percent.
Total Western European sales declined to 1.06 million
vehicles, the ACEA said. Eleven-month registrations declined 3.8
percent to 13.4 million vehicles.

Renault SA sales slipped 7.9 percent to 119,856 vehicles,
while French rival PSA Peugeot's sales fell 6.5 percent to 159,204
cars and minivans. Volkswagen AG's sales fell 6.2 percent in
November to 200,623 cars. Volkswagen is Europe's largest carmaker.
Renault is aiming to recover from 2001, when it warned twice
that it wouldn't reach its profit target. Its market share in the
region declined slightly to 11.3 percent in November, compared
with 11.5 percent a year ago. The company began selling new
versions of its Espace family van and Megane car last month.

 

If you're in the market for a $40k+ auto, remember the luxury tax goes away at the end of the year. More info:

http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask...2002/q1115.htm