Toyota's Europe Sales Top Daimler
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Toyota's Europe Sales Top Daimler
Toyota's Europe Sales Rose,
Topped Daimler in January
By JAN HROMADKO
February 16, 2007
Even as DaimlerChrysler AG looks for ways to stanch red ink at its U.S. Chrysler arm, it also faces falling behind a rival on its home turf.
Toyota Motor Corp. posted a 21% rise in European new-car registrations in January, to 76,649, overtaking the German-American auto maker's 70,958 in monthly sales. Toyota, whose sales are rising in most of its markets, outperformed with a rise of 1.1% for overall European car registrations in January, said the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, also known as ACEA.
Meanwhile, German car makers BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and DaimlerChrysler all posted lower registrations in January because of a three-percentage-point increase in the German value-added tax at the start of the year.
The registration data, a proxy for sales of new vehicles, cover European Union members except Malta and Cyprus, plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
For all of last year, DaimlerChrysler was Europe's No. 7 auto maker in terms of new-car registrations, with 922,461, up 0.8% from 2005. Toyota was No. 8, with 896,831, up 9.7%. Toyota's quick growth in Europe demonstrates the pressure that auto makers in Europe and the U.S. face from an increasingly competitive global environment.
Toyota's European car registrations were boosted by sales of new versions of the Yaris and Aygo as well as the RAV4 sport-utility vehicle.
"We expect Toyota's strong performance to continue this year. The company is due to launch its new Auris model, which will keep new-car registration at a high level, most likely at the expense of French manufacturers," said Jens Schattner, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort.
General Motors Corp. and Fiat SpA also had higher registrations, with GM getting a boost from new versions of the Astra and Corsa models and Fiat continuing to be boosted by strong sales of its Grande Punto subcompact.
Overall new-car registrations climbed to 1.29 million in January despite an 11% drop in Germany -- normally Europe's largest car market. The big drop in German registrations was offset by gains in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain.
Analysts said the figures for January included few surprises and are a confirmation of existing trends.
"There really are no surprises in the data. Toyota continues to enjoy a fresh model portfolio, and Fiat also continues its solid performance of previous months," Mr. Schattner said. The auto makers had seen higher registrations late last year as German consumers rushed to buy big-ticket items ahead of the tax increase.
However, "the kickback from the VAT hike was smaller than we expected," Mr. Schattner said. "The VAT hike will likely have a negative impact on German new-car registrations throughout the first quarter, but this should fade away thereafter," he added.
January new-car registrations of BMW, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler fell 1.1%, 2.3% and 3.8%, respectively, ACEA said.
Jan Hromadko
jan.hromadko@dowjones.com
Topped Daimler in January
By JAN HROMADKO
February 16, 2007
Even as DaimlerChrysler AG looks for ways to stanch red ink at its U.S. Chrysler arm, it also faces falling behind a rival on its home turf.
Toyota Motor Corp. posted a 21% rise in European new-car registrations in January, to 76,649, overtaking the German-American auto maker's 70,958 in monthly sales. Toyota, whose sales are rising in most of its markets, outperformed with a rise of 1.1% for overall European car registrations in January, said the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, also known as ACEA.
Meanwhile, German car makers BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and DaimlerChrysler all posted lower registrations in January because of a three-percentage-point increase in the German value-added tax at the start of the year.
The registration data, a proxy for sales of new vehicles, cover European Union members except Malta and Cyprus, plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
For all of last year, DaimlerChrysler was Europe's No. 7 auto maker in terms of new-car registrations, with 922,461, up 0.8% from 2005. Toyota was No. 8, with 896,831, up 9.7%. Toyota's quick growth in Europe demonstrates the pressure that auto makers in Europe and the U.S. face from an increasingly competitive global environment.
Toyota's European car registrations were boosted by sales of new versions of the Yaris and Aygo as well as the RAV4 sport-utility vehicle.
"We expect Toyota's strong performance to continue this year. The company is due to launch its new Auris model, which will keep new-car registration at a high level, most likely at the expense of French manufacturers," said Jens Schattner, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort.
General Motors Corp. and Fiat SpA also had higher registrations, with GM getting a boost from new versions of the Astra and Corsa models and Fiat continuing to be boosted by strong sales of its Grande Punto subcompact.
Overall new-car registrations climbed to 1.29 million in January despite an 11% drop in Germany -- normally Europe's largest car market. The big drop in German registrations was offset by gains in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain.
Analysts said the figures for January included few surprises and are a confirmation of existing trends.
"There really are no surprises in the data. Toyota continues to enjoy a fresh model portfolio, and Fiat also continues its solid performance of previous months," Mr. Schattner said. The auto makers had seen higher registrations late last year as German consumers rushed to buy big-ticket items ahead of the tax increase.
However, "the kickback from the VAT hike was smaller than we expected," Mr. Schattner said. "The VAT hike will likely have a negative impact on German new-car registrations throughout the first quarter, but this should fade away thereafter," he added.
January new-car registrations of BMW, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler fell 1.1%, 2.3% and 3.8%, respectively, ACEA said.
Jan Hromadko
jan.hromadko@dowjones.com
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