2013 (Q1) Europe: Car Sales by European Union & EFTA Countries

European car sales slump during the first quarter of 2013 with Britain the only major EU country with a growing automobile market.

Crowds at the Ferrari at the 2013 Geneva Auto Salon

First quarter 2013 car sales in he European Union (EU) and Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries slumped to the lowest level in two decades. European wide new passenger vehicle registrations declined by 9.7% with the United Kingdom the only large car market to have experienced growth. The German car market contracted by 100,000 vehicles. Volkswagen remains the largest car manufacturer and strongest car brand in Europe despite underperforming the market.

The European (EU + EFTA) Car Markt in 2013 (Q1)

The west European car market (EU + EFTA) contracted by 9.7% during the first three months of 2013 to 3,096,266 new passenger vehicle registrations. New car sales in the European Union (EU) were down by 9.8% to 2,989,486, below the psychological three million target.

The new car market in the European Union started slow with car sales in January (-8.7%) the weakest since the current statistics started in 1990. Sales in February 2013 were even slower (-10.5%) with March 2013 (-10.2%) the 18th consecutive month off year-on-year declines.

New Cars Sales per European Country in 2013 (Q1)

New passenger vehicle registrations during the first three months of 2013 according to car sales statistics released by the ACEA were:

Jan – Mar Jan – Mar % Chg
  2013 2012  
Austria 80,024 88,764 -9.8
Belgium 149,160 148,363 +0.5
Bulgaria 3,541 3,926 -9.8
Cyprus 1,869 3,202 -41.6
Czech Republic 36,453 43,529 -16.3
Denmark 41,950 40,781 +2.9
Estonia 4,678 4,027 +16.2
Finland 27,640 47,834 -42.2
France 433,882 507,830 -14.6
Germany 673,957 773,636 -12.9
Greece 14,142 17,180 -17.7
Hungary 12,559 13,961 -10.0
Ireland 39,511 45,840 -13.8
Italy 354,931 407,832 -13.0
Latvia 2,354 2,488 -5.4
Lithuania 2,734 2,878 -5.0
Luxembourg 12,315 13,511 -8.9
Netherland 115,998 166,450 -30.3
Poland 75,989 77,832 -2.4
Portugal 24,147 23,504 +2.7
Romania 12,387 13,965 -11.3
Slovakia 14,501 16,598 -12.6
Slovenia 12,768 14,325 -10.9
Spain 180,724 204,118 -11.5
Sweden 56,074 67,976 -17.5
United Kingdom 605,198 563,556 +7.4
EUROPEAN UNION (EU27)* 2,989,486 3,313,906 -9.8
Iceland 1,333 1,076 +23.9
Norway 33,696 34,814 -3.2
Switzerland 71,751 79,130 -9.3
EFTA 106,780 115,020 -7.2
EU27*+EFTA 3,096,266 3,428,926 -9.7

*ACEA statistics exclude figures for the small Malta market.

European Car Sales per Country in 2013 (Q1)

The United Kingdom (+7.4%) and Belgium (+0.5%) were the only two of the top ten European automobile markets to have shown positive sales growth during the first three months of 2013. All other major markets were sharply weaker with Germany (-12.9%) alone accounting for a loss of 100,000 car sales compared to the first quarter of 2012.

The French car market declined to below half-a-million cars, while Italy slipped below 400,000 and Spain below 200,000. Car sales in The Netherlands were down by a third allowing the Belgian car market to exceed the Dutch market.

The strongest growth was in two small markets: Iceland (+24%) and Estonia (+16%). The biggest contractions were in Finland (-42%) and not surprisingly Cyprus (-42%). The Cypriot market declined by almost 60% in March 2013.

The European car market is expected to remain very weak during the rest of 2013 with major car manufacturers revising sales target even further downward after the weak start to the year. Internationally, car sales have remained robust in amongst others the USA, China and Russia. German car sales in China has also remained very strong. Volkswagen remained the best-selling car brand in Europe.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.