As automotive production in Europe falls by a whopping 35 per cent, small cars have reached a new record high market share reflecting consumer concerns about the general economy and the environment.
In the first quarter of the year, production fell to just 3.4million vehicles according to new statistics from the Economic Report from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Indeed even though schemes such as the vehicle scrappage concept have helped segments of the market, overall vehicle demand went down further as well.
Van and truck production dropped 57 per cent and 56 per cent respectively, with the UK being the worst affected of the five largest European producers with a drop of 57.4 per cent. This was followed by France, down 46 per cent, Spain down 40.2 per cent, Italy down 38.6 per cent and Germany down 32.3 per cent. If you think its bad here however, spare a thought for our Austrian neighbours where production slumped by a whopping 69.2 per cent.
Nevertheless, small cars reached a market share of 44.9 per cent in the first five months of the year, which surpasses the record of 38.8 per cent over the whole of 2008. Indeed the average engine size and power fell from 1,706cc to 1,635cc in the first quarter of 2009.
While the outlook for the remainder of the year is uncertain, current developments suggest that production may even fall by as much as 25 per cent over the whole of the year for passenger cars and by at least 50 per cent for commercial vehicles.
