ZCZC
BCN-34
EU-ECONOMY-INDICATOR-AUTOMOBILE
New emission tests brake EU car sales in September
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Oct 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Car sales slumped across
Europe in September, industry data published Wednesday showed, with the
hangover from a sales binge before new emissions tests came into force
knocking Volkswagen out of its traditional top spot in monthly sales.
At 1.09 million, passenger car sales were down 23.5 percent in the 28-
member European Union last month compared with September 2017, the European
Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said in a statement.
“This should not come as a surprise, as the introduction of the new WLTP
test at the beginning of last month caused an exceptional surge in
registrations in August” as carmakers rushed to squeeze through older models
ahead of the cutoff, ACEA commented.
Sales had jumped by nearly a third in August, traditionally a soft month
for car sales as many Europeans are on vacation, as carmakers discounted
vehicles that hadn’t been certified using the new WLTP test.
The new EU-wide test procedure is one front of authorities’ reaction to
VW’s 2015 admission to mass cheating on diesel vehicles, with suspicions
since spreading to other manufacturers.
Wolfsburg-based VW manipulated 11 million cars worldwide to meet limits
for emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) under lab conditions.
In real on-road driving, they spewed many times the allowed amounts of the
harmful gases — which the World Health Organization (WHO) says aggravate
asthma and bronchitis symptoms and are linked to cardiovascular and
respiratory disease.
In the event, VW — Europe’s largest car group by sales volume — was the
hardest hit by the introduction of the new tests. It shifted 172,000 cars
last month compared with 330,500 in September 2017, ceding the top spot in
monthly sales to France’s PSA.
The 48-percent sales plunge was much steeper than that for Italy’s Fiat,
which saw a drop of 31.9 percent and France’s Renault which fell 27 percent.
MORE/HR/1428
ZCZC
BCN-35
EU-ECONOMY-INDICATOR-AUTOMOBILE 2 LAST FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Sales of VW’s own-brand cars were down 52 percent, while luxury subsidiary
Porsche saw a near 70-percent collapse.
“We’ll continue to see effects in October” from WLTP, VW sales chief
Christian Dahlheim said Friday, while predicting “stronger months” to follow.
German competitors have faced less dramatic sales cliff-edges, with BMW
down 8.6 percent and Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler shedding 11.8 percent in
September.
In France, PSA — which owns Peugeot and Citroen as well as German
manufacturer Opel — lost just 7.7 percent of sales.
Looking beyond the September slump, August’s sales surge has helped
manufacturers keep their full-year figures positive.
In the first nine months, VW’s sales were up 5.6 percent year-on-year at
2.89 million units.
PSA added almost 55 percent, at 1.93 million, thanks in large part to its
acquisition of Opel. Renault saw 6.5-percent growth to 1.28 million vehicles.
Meanwhile Fiat and BMW both reported small decreases, while Daimler’s
sales were down 4.5 percent.
BSS/AFP/HR/1430