Based on data which is preliminary in some cases, global demand for passenger vehicles increased 8% in April from the same month of last year. While this reflects the robust performance of global passenger vehicle demand, results were also slightly inflated due to the higher number of workdays last month.
Demand in the Asia/Pacific region was up a solid 8% from the year before according to preliminary estimate, and was driven by China, where double-digit growth was reported. On the year, this region, which represents the largest market in the world, is now up 7.5% from the year before.
Eastern Europe (down 4.6%) is continuing to suffer from the impact of the financial crisis, and this effect has now spread to Russia as well, where new registrations surprisingly fell by 8% in April. Four months into the year, this region is down slightly compared to a year ago.
The NAFTA region (up 11%) regained momentum, with the U.S. in particular reporting strong growth.
Western Europe (up 2%) was able to post a gain. Most countries were up because of the higher number of workdays, although France and Italy reported negative growth in March as well. On the year, Western Europe is now down 7% from the year before.
Global New Registrations to Hit a New Record in 2013, with Almost 74 Million Units
Global new registrations will once again set a new record in 2013, growing a good 3% over 2012. Expectations were revised slightly lower relative to last month’s forecast, by about 160,000 units (up 0.2%).
The adjustments to the forecast are mainly attributable to worsening expectations for some Western European countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain), and particularly for Russia. The economic crisis is now spreading with greater force to European countries outside of the Euro Zone.
New registrations in the Asia/Pacific region will increase by a good 3% in 2013 over the year before. This relatively weak growth is attributable to the expected decline in Japan, where government incentives are expiring.
New registrations in the NAFTA region are expected to continue to rebound, to 18 million units. Eastern Europe will grow by just 3% in 2013, due to the fact that the situation in Russia has now worsened.
Western European passenger vehicle demand will decline for the fourth year in a row in 2013, falling to its lowest level since 1993. The current forecast is now just 35,000 units away from that level. Even if the situation improves faster than expected over the course of the year, a repetition of last year’s level is nearly out of the question.
Data: Copyright R.L. Polk Europe Holding Ltd, all rights reserved. No reproduction allowed without prior written consent from Polk – www.polk.com.
For more detailed data on the UK vehicle market, contact SMMT Automotive Information Services (AIS).
