Currently reading: European car sales tumble
Saab, Chrysler suffer huge losses; scrappage boosts budget sales

New car sales in Europe continued to spiral downwards in May, with ailing manufacturers Saab and Chrysler suffering the biggest falls.

Saab’s year-on-year sales were down 65.7 per cent and Chrysler suffered a 60.5 per cent loss.

Jaguar Land Rover also suffered a big loss, as its sales fell by 41.3 per cent.

Scrappage schemes across the continent appear to be helping manufacturers of smaller budget cars, however.

Hyundai recorded the biggest year-on-year gains of any major firm, with sales up 25.1 per cent, and the Fiat group and Suzuki also recorded sales increases of two per cent and three per cent respectively.

It was a mixed month for the German manufacturers, with the VW group the only maker posting an increase (3.1 per cent).

Mercedes-Benz and Smart suffered a combined 8.9 per cent drop and the BMW group’s sales were down 14.1 per cent.

Ford and Opel/Vauxhall also suffered losses in May, with Ford seeing its sales fall 2.4 per cent and Opel/Vauxhall 9.6 per cent.

Total European sales encompassing all brands were down 4.9 per cent compared with last May.

Mark Tisshaw

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