W. European January Car Sales Fall 1.3%; VW Loses Market Share
Frankfurt, Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Western European new car sales fell 1.3 percent in January as Italians and Germans bought fewer cars. Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, lost market share to French rival PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Sales fell to 1.28 million cars last month from 1.3 million in the year-earlier period, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, said in a faxed statement.
Volkswagen sales fell 5.8 percent to 224,734 vehicles as the Peugeot 307 model took sales from Volkswagen's Golf. Peugeot's sales rose 9.3 percent to 193,316 cars. Volkswagen brand sales fell 15 percent to 123,985 units. Volkswagen's market share fell to 17.6 percent from 18.4 percent, while Peugeot's market share rose to 15.1 percent from 13.6 percent.
``The figures for the first month of the year 2002 are better than most forecasts had predicted for the beginning of the year, but the economic context remains subdued,'' the ACEA said.
Economic growth in the 12 countries using the euro slowed to 0.1 percent in the third quarter of last year, the weakest pace in 2 1/2 years, and the region's economy may grow as little as 0.7 percent this year.
Italian sales fell the most of the four major markets, dropping 8.8 percent to 248,300. This hurt Fiat SpA, the market leader in Italy. Its European wide sales fell 9.9 percent to 134,731 cars.
Ford Motor Co. increased sales by 2.6 percent to 151,272 helped by the mid-sized Mondeo model. U.S. rival General Motors Corp.'s sales fell 14.4 percent to 118,948 as Opel sales fell some 15 percent.
DaimlerChrysler AG increased sales by 3.9 percent to 82,462 vehicles as sales of the two-seater Smart car rose 30 percent to 8,950 cars. Rival Bayerische Motoren Werke AG increased sales by 14 percent to 53,224 cars, helped by the introduction of the Mini, which was not on sale in January of last year. BMW brand sales fell 4.4 percent to 44,629 units.
Renault SA sales rose 4.4 percent to 134,581 units.
Car sales in 2002 are expected to fall as much as 10 percent as Europe's economic growth slows, analysts have said.
