Japanese car sales slumped for the third straight month as the eurozone crisis threatened sales, while economic woes and the end of scrappage schemes threatened a bleak start to 2011 for Europe's car markets. In Europe, while austerity measures and economic concerns will likely hit spending power and consumer confidence in the coming months, the end of scrapping incentives had a more immediate impact on November automobile sales.
In Spain, where bonuses to boost new car sales ran out at the start of July, coinciding with an increase in value-added tax, car sales fell 25.5 percent year-on-year in November, Spanish carmakers' association ANFAC said. Industry association CCFA said French car sales for November dropped 10.8 percent, less than expected. A 500 euro scrapping scheme, half the original bonus offered, is still in place in France, while carmakers including domestic rivals PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault are proposing generous money-back offers to drivers. The imminent end of the scheme helped car sales post a limited fall against a strong November 2009. Last November, just before the scrapping scheme was cut from its initial 1,000 euros, sales surged 48.4 percent from a weak November 2008.
In the first 11 months 2,023,410 passenger cars were registered, a 2.4 percent dip on the same period of 2009. Excluding 660cc minivehicles, sales in Japan sank 30.7 percent to 203,246 units last month, marking the biggest fall on record for November, despite one more selling day in the month than in 2009. Top-ranked Toyota Motor's sales fell 35 percent, while Honda Motor's dropped 38 percent.
Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest automaker, fared better but also reported a 13 percent fall in its domestic market, partly due to difficult comparisons from a year ago. Its global sales rose 1.4 percent to 314,569 units, however, as it further outpaced rivals in Europe and other major markets.