It has been 6 years drastic years for the automobile industry in Europe, and finally the tumbling market came to a halt as sales in the continent have picked up. Car sales in Europe during April rose by 4.3% as buyers flocked to purchase latest models from the market. Though in single digits, the demand for cars grew steadily since January 2014 in western nations, and that has brought relief to several automakers. The marginal increase in sales led to a total sales of 5.62 million units; with passenger vehicles in both entry level and luxury level showing growth.
It is estimated that this steady growth will continue for a few years until markets are out of depression. European market leader Volkswagen has gained by 9.5%. Meanwhile Renault has gained by nearly 18%, Toyota by 14%, Peugeot Citroen has grown by 4.2% because of the 2008 compact SUV and 308 hatchback models. General Motors with its Open and Vauxhall brands grew by 6.2%.
Halfway down the globe in South America, the sales scenario has been on the other side. While the continent has seen a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of an average 11% for the past decade, the markets slewed down this year. Car sales in April fell drastically by 13.9% while in May it continued to fall by 6.5%. Total sales in South America in April stood at 2.09 million units showing a downfall since last year when sales were at 2.38 million units. Venezuela faced the worst setback with a downfall of 88% (MoM) during April while the country saw decrease in sales by 87% since January. In April 2014 the rolled out units fell down to 1267 units from 10192 units in the previous year. Second largest fall in car sales was reported from Argentina which fell by 35% since last April.
The only international model which is selling well in this continent is the Volkswagen Golf which is also the market leader with a share of 4.7% and it is followed by Fiat Palio with 3.7%. The Ford Fiesta sedan which was the market leader till 2012 was ranked third with its share dropping from 17.5% to 3.5% in just a couple of years.
