Volkswagen has lost market share in Europe for the thirteenth consecutive month since the emissions scandal erupted in September 2015, as competitors took advantage of a loss of confidence in the German carmaker to attract buyers.
The company, which was losing ground to rivals even before admitting to emissions-test cheating last year, accounted for 22.9 per cent of the region’s auto sales in September compared with 23.3 per cent a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement on Friday.
Industry-wide registrations rose 7.3 per cent last month to 1.5 million vehicles, outperforming Volkswagen’s 5.6 per cent gain.
European car sales have been increasing since 2013, rebounding from a two-decade low in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Brexit concerns
Growth has cooled in recent months as concerns about the UK's exit from the European Union and Deutsche Bank's future cloud the region's economic outlook.
Auto manufacturers posted their first sales dip in almost three years in July, typically a weak month for the sector, and September’s gain came in below the 7.7 per cent increase posted in the first nine months.
“European automobile demand appears to have peaked,” analysts at Moody’s wrote in a report last week.
“Manufacturers’ ambitious volume expectations for their new models will keep pricing pressure high and could result in discounts and incentives eroding profit margins and cash flows.”
The company’s nine-month European market share narrowed to 23.9 per cent from 25 per cent a year earlier, the lowest level for the period since 2011.
It was battered by negative publicity in September related to investor lawsuits and the resignation of the head of development at the Audi luxury brand amid legal investigations.
Volkswagen shares, which have tumbled 27 per cent since the cheating became public, rose 0.8 per cent to €118.60 at 9.34am in Frankfurt trading, valuing the company at €63 billion.
Renault SA, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted the region's biggest sales gains in September, with increases of more than 14 per cent. – (Bloomberg)