New car registrations increased by 5.2% in the EU last month, totalling almost 1.6 million vehicles, says the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Overall new-car registrations across Europe rose 2.8% in the six months through June, led by gains in France and Spain, according to figures released on Tuesday.
In the first half of 2018, the European car market grew by 2.9%, while Italy saw a decline of 1.4% and the UK dropped by 6.9%. In Spain, demand was up 10.1%, while France and Germany recorded increases of 4.7% and 2.9%, respectively.
The fall in car sales is an indication that consumer confidence has been affected due to the planned withdrawal from the European Union.
“The ongoing uncertainty over the U.K. Brexit arrangements has led to a noticeable pullback among fleet customers especially,” said Peter Fuss, a partner as consultancy EY. “We expect sales in the U.K. to be weak at least until the fall, when hopefully we’ll see tangible results from the negotiations with the European Union.”
Jaguar Land Rover recently issued a warning that it urgently need greater certainty on Brexit if it is to continue investing in the UK motor industry. In June, the automotive giant announced that it was moving it’s JLR Discovery product from Solihull, Birmingham to Slovakia, placing many jobs at risk. If you have been affected by this, or think you could be affected, we can help – with over 5,000 jobs on our website, there’s bound to be a role for you. Search the latest jobs here.
JLR also announced in April it was cutting 1,000 UK jobs due in part to Brexit uncertainty, indicating the squeeze the uncertainty of the deal is placing on the automotive industry.
“A bad Brexit deal would cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2bn profit each year,” said JLR chief executive Ralf Speth.
“As a result, we would have to drastically adjust our spending profile. We have spent around £50bn in the UK in the past five years, with plans for a further £80bn more in the next five.
“This would be in jeopardy should we be faced with the wrong outcome.”
