Germany In May 2013: Abwrts, Bitte
After Germany’s sudden 3.8 percent sales rise in April, this site did not buy into the sentiment that the worst is over in Europe. It’s not. After the calendar-induced April fool’s gold, the German market continued its downward run, with the rest of Europe sure to follow.
Germany in May is down 9.9 percent compared to May 2012, Germany’s Kraftfahrtbundesamt says. Five months into the year, the German market is down 8.8 percent.
Expectedly, all volume brands are down hard, from Audi (- 9.7 percent) all the way to Volkswagen (-10.1 percent.) Ford looks pretty good with only a slight 0.9 percent loss. Opel (-16.3 %) and Chevrolet (-22.9 percent) have been roughed-up. Opel is down 11.2 percent for the year, Chevrolet lost 17 percent in the first five months.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Well not to start a flame war on a right-of-center site....but who expected it to get better when Europe is continuing austerity measures that directly affect middle-class incomes combined with a weak federal union that unified currency without tying labor and wage laws together. Topped with Germany stabbing at the countries hanging on to the rope below them nothing will change for some time. The mere fact that the US has been gridlocked so we couldn't implement austerity programs has helped us climb out of the hole though the TARP we did use helped it was too small. But to be back on topic, hopefully Europe will get it's house in order bwfore the economic collapse puts extreme right-wing groups in power like Golden Dawn in Greece. Nobody wants a repeat of 1933-1945.