The European automotive industry is… getting smaller.
That’s the verdict after figures were released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showing that the market share of smaller cars in Europe had risen from about 38.8 per cent in 2008 to 44.9 per cent between January and November, 2009. Both average engine size and power decreased too, with the average displacement dropping to 1,626cm3 from 1,706cm3 and average power falling to 82kW from 86kW.
During the entire 12 month period, passenger car demand in Europe was 1.6 per cent lower than in 2008 and 9.5 per cent lower than before the crisis began in 2007. However, new car registrations did pick up in the second half of the year reflecting a cautious upturn in the market’s momentum.
A total of 14.5million new cars were registered in 2009 with only Austria (up 8.8 per cent), France (up 10.7 per cent) and Germany (up 23.2 per cent) showing any growth compared to 2008, primarily due to scrapping incentives. Italy (down 0.2 per cent), the UK (down 6.4 per cent) and Spain (down 17.9 per cent) enjoyed better than expected results, also due to their respective scrappage schemes.
Meanwhile, automotive production in Europe decreased by more than a quarter from January-September 2009 compared to the same periods in 2008 and 2007, with commercial vehicle production dropping even further.
