With Sales Down Only 5.2 Percent, France Hopes This Is The Big Turn-Around
The situation in Europe is so desperate that a 5.2 percent drop of French car sales in April gave reason to rejoice. “The plunge seems to be halting after the double-digit declines of previous months,” Francois Roudier, spokesman of the French CCFA industry association, told Reuters.
In March, sales in France were down 16.4 percent. For the first four months, sales in France are down 12.3 percent.
France’s industry leader PSA Peugeot Citroen lost more market share in April as saw its sales drop 12.1 percent. Renault gained share by being down only 2.8 percent.
We’ll know more once the other European volume markets have reported. Also, March and April are important sales months in Europe, weather and calendar induced shifts register big. Easter Sunday was on March 31 this year, and many in Europe took the week off.
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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Only down 5.2%. Gee, nice to know there's a silver lining... Not being in France, I'd be curious to understand why PSA's sales are falling so much faster than Renault's. Is there something about the product/sales mix that is working in Renault's favour right now?