With Discounts Waning, European Car Sales Crash

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Bad European car sales are about to get worse. French September car registrations dropped 18 percent year-on-year, while Spain’s plunged 37 percent, Reuters reports.

The Spanish number is especially bad because the sales tax was raised in September, which brought sales to August. A new cash-for-clunkers program was introduced today, which made buyers delay their purchases.

January through August, European car sales were down 7.1 percent, but market observers expect the European market to accelerate this downward trend. Severe discounting kept volume halfway alive through the preceding months. With inventories and discounts dwindling, car sales are expected to drop in earnest.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

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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  • -Cole- -Cole- on Oct 01, 2012

    Herm yes raise tax in spain, great idea. We need austerity to keep the bankers fed.

  • Tparkit Tparkit on Oct 02, 2012

    The global economic collapse is gathering steam. The signs are everywhere; for instance, new export orders in China have hit a 42-month low. The social consequences are showing up everywhere too. For instance, separatists in two regions in Spain (25% unemployment, and rising) are making noises about breaking away to form sovereign nations, and one of their goals is to shrug off Spain's unsupportable debts. IMO, the important point here is that we have two forces at work. First is the popping of the debt bubble. Second, and less often discussed, is an already-esclating societal upheaval which will include strife and violence. That's not good for jobs, paychecks, or car sales... and we ain't seen nothin' yet.

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