New car sales in Europe slumped 7.9 percent in June over one year as mounting inflation and soaring fuel prices spooked buyers, the ACEA European automakers association said on Wednesday.
The drop, driven by freefalls in Ireland, Spain and Italy, came on the heels of a 7.8 percent plunge in May, adding to growing evidence of economic weakness in Europe.
“Rising inflation and soaring fuel prices were among the main factors influencing new registrations,” ACEA said, announcing a 2.2-percent fall in new car sales in the first half of the year.
Oil prices hit new records over 140 dollars a barrel in June, lifting inflation in the 15 countries using the euro to an all-time high of 4.0 percent.
ACEA said a total of 1,427,008 new cars were registered in June in the 28 countries it reviewed — the 27 EU member states, minus Cyprus and Malta, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
However, the data showed a widely varying situation across Europe with the German and French markets seeing slightly higher sales, while new car registrations plunged 49 percent in Ireland, 31 percent in Spain and 20 percent in Italy.
Among the major brands, Europe's biggest carmaker, the Volkswagen group, saw its sales drop 6.1 percent in June while the second biggest automaker, the PSA group, saw its sales fall 9.7 percent.
Following them, the General Motors Group's sales dropped 13.1 percent while the Ford group saw sales of its new cars nudge up 0.8 percent.
Sales of new Renaults fell 5.6 percent while Fiat sales dropped 6.3 percent.
Toyota sales nosedived 18 percent in June while BMW rose 1.7 percent amid fast growth at its Mini brand. Rival German luxury carmaker Daimler saw its sales slide 6.0 percent.
