The European new car market had its worst
start to the year since 2009, declining 7.1% in January compared to
January 2011, according to auto intelligence company JATO
Dynamics.

In the big five European markets, combined
sales in France and Italy fell by 66,481 units for the month, with
UK  and German sales remaining level, and Spain recording a
slight increase.

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Only three of the top 10 brands increased sales compared to
January 2011: Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen, while French and
Italian brands suffered from a decline in new car sales within
their domestic markets.

Outside the top ten, Lexus sales grew 136.2% higher than January
2011, due to strong sales of its CT200h small premium hybrid model.
Land Rover sales were up 50.7%, bolstered by the new Range
Rover Evoque model, while Kia sales grew 33.3%, with sales of the
new Rio supermini increasing by more than 5,000 units compared to
its predecessor last year.

VW’s Golf and Polo were the top two models sold in Europe,
despite the latter’s sales decreasing by 11.3% in January, compared
to January 2011. Ford’s Fiesta and Focus were third and fourth,
with Focus sales up 7.3% on a year earlier. Skoda’s Octavia
recorded a 22.1% increase in sales compared to January 2011,
securing a place (10th) in the top 10 models for the
first time.

Gareth Hession, JATO’s vice-president, research said: “The
significant decline in sales in France and Italy is worrying for
the brands local to these markets, but new products such as Fiat’s
new Panda and Peugeot’s 208 are likely to improve their
competitiveness in the coming year.

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“The cold weather and continued economic turmoil across Europe
will likely impact the new car market in February. It will,
however, be interesting to see how sales in the Baltic and Central
Eastern European regions are affected, as up until now that they
have experienced sales increases each month.”