From the U.S. via Europe to India, September new car sales are a mixed bag.
In China, September auto sales were up 19.66 percent (and not 21 percent, as reported elsewhere,) the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers CAAM reports.China is set to buy more than 20 million units this year.
In the U.S.A., September sales were expected to be down, and they did not disappoint. After a strong August, light vehicle sales were down 4.2 percent in September. The market remains to be powered by trucks. Passenger cars sales were down 5.6 percent, while trucks retreated by only 2.8 percent. A 17.3 percent decline in car sales dragged down GM’s sales, while Ford and Chrysler could eke out small gains. Total data here.
In Japan, new car registrations were up a strong 17 percent in September, data of the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicles Association show. Sales of regular vehicles rose 12.4 percent. Ignoring propaganda by Detroit automakers and Michigan senators, 11.6 percent of all regular cars sold in Japan in September were imports. Sales of mini vehicles, up 25.4 percent, surged. Nearly 40 percent of all automobiles sold in Japan are mini vehicles. Full data are here. A rise in Japan’s sales tax, announced for April 2014, is expected to pulls sales forward throughout the remainder of the year.
In Europe, September data are mixed so far. In Europe’s largest car market Germany, September sales were down 1.2 percent compared to September 2012. Nine months into the year, German sales are down 6 percent, Germany’s KBA says. In the UK, the market, up 12.1 percent, bounced back to pre-recession kevels, Reuters writes. In Italy, Europe’s fourth-largest volume market, sales were down 2.9 percent in September, Reuters says. Fiat’s at-home market share dropped to 27.48 percent from 29.6 in August. In Ireland, car sales jumped 17 percent. Sales in France and Spain bounced back from low levels. France’s market was up 3.4 pct, sales in Spain were up 28.5 pct. Full EU data are expected by mid October. Last month, the European market stood at its lowest level since records began in 1990.
In Russia, car sales fell for a seventh straight month in September. They were down five percent, after having dropped 10 percent in August, Reuters says.
In India, Maruti Suzuki reports strong data, whereas Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra are down, Reuters says. Sales were down 5.8 percent in the current fiscal that started in April.
In Brazil, automobile production dropped 2.5 percent and sales fell 5.9 percent in September from August, Reuters says.
In Mexico, auto production fell 4.6 percent in September compared with the same month a year earlier, while exports rose 11.7 percent.
