Photo: Peugeot
The downward trend of the European economy can finally be quantified accurately, as 2012 is now over, by studying the fluctuation (or in this case sheer drop) of new car sales in the Old Continent’s most powerful and developed nations, like France.
They are reporting a drop of 13.9% in the number of registrations carried out in 2012. This equates to only 1.9 million units in total, and the lowest number the country has ever seen, since 1997. Leading this sad downhill race is Renault, which reported sales which are 22.1% lower than they were last year, while PSA Peugeot-Citroen is reporting a drop of 18%.
However, it seems that the trend is accelerating, and the December figures make this very clear, as Renault recorded a drop of 27% in their sales numbers, while Volkswagen sold 20% fewer cars than they did in December 2011 - PSA is still ahead, even though this is still a decline, with a reported figure of 14%.
Still, those numbers pale in comparison to the 40% decline reported by Ford. The situation is also affecting commercial vehicles, as well, and sales of vans also fell by 22% in December of 2012, reaching the lowest level since 2008.
However, it seems that the trend is accelerating, and the December figures make this very clear, as Renault recorded a drop of 27% in their sales numbers, while Volkswagen sold 20% fewer cars than they did in December 2011 - PSA is still ahead, even though this is still a decline, with a reported figure of 14%.
Still, those numbers pale in comparison to the 40% decline reported by Ford. The situation is also affecting commercial vehicles, as well, and sales of vans also fell by 22% in December of 2012, reaching the lowest level since 2008.
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