European market: car sales increase by 9.2% in 2015; growth to slow in 2016

VW's share after October falls

2016/02/12

Summary
European market: Western Europe sales back to 13 million units for first time in six years; expected to increase in 2016 as well; VW's share falls
German market: sales recover to 3.2 million units for first time in six years; slight growth forecast for 2016; VW's sales decline in October - December 2015
U.K. market: sales mark record high; same level expected in 2016; VW's share falls
French market: sales increase by 6.8% to 1.92 million units; continued growth expected in 2016; PSA's share falls
Italian market: sales exceed 1.5 million units for first time in four years; continued recovery expected in 2016
Spanish market: sales rapidly recover due to government support measures; sales increase by 23% to 1.19 million units
Sales Forecast by LMC Automotive: West European market to reach to 16 million units in 2019
Statistics table: sales volume of passenger cars in Europe (by country and OEM)

Summary

The European passenger car market (30 countries) experienced a major recovery in 2015. Sales volume of passenger cars increased by 9.2% year-over-year (y/y) to 14.2 million units. The increase was due to factors such as a recovery of consumer sentiment, low interest rates, and government support measures. Recovery is expected to slow, and growth to stall at an increase of only a few percent in 2016. LMC Automotive predicts that the growth rate of the Western European light vehicle market (including small commercial vehicles) in 2016 will be 3.8%, and approximately 2% per annum from 2017 onward.　

Volkswagen (VW), which had a diesel emissions scandal exposed in September 2015, saw its European (30 countries) passenger cars sales volume in 2015 increase by 6.2% y/y to 3.52 million units. While VW's global sales fell, its European sales supported those of its group as a whole. VW's market share in Europe fell significantly from October, causing its market share in 2015 to decline by 0.7 percentage point to 24.8%.

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