After this year the European car market has experienced the best month of august in 20 years , with an increase of 38% in the number of registered cars came the expected drop in sales. The expressive growth of the market in July and above all in August was short-lived, justified by the “dispatching” of car stock in non-compliance with the WLTP.
Brands like Volkswagen, with a sales volume growth of 45% (almost 150 000 vehicles sold); Renault, with sales of 100,000 units , growing 72% and Audi, which was the third best-selling brand in Europe in that period, with around 66 000 units (+33%), were among those who most enjoyed the month of August, as it has not been seen in the market for a long time.
But it's a case of saying that after the bonanza came the storm, as the incentives and campaigns aimed at making an authentic stock-off of cars that are not homologated according to the WLTP cycle barely ended, the brands saw sales sink. If in August the market growth was strong, with a 38% increase , in September the fall was not far behind, with the volume of sales to drop 23%.
While in September last year they were registered in Europe 1.36 million of new cars, this year the same month only saw them being registered. 1.06 million of new cars.
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Why?
This is largely due to the fact that new cars can only be sold in accordance with the WLTP as of September 1st (manufacturers can still sell a small percentage of NEDC models), which has led many brands to deal with authentic logistical nightmares leading to suspension of delivery of models that have not yet been certified according to the WLTP cycle and even temporary breaks in production.
And which brands are suffering the most from these production breaks? Despite the fact that almost all brands are being affected, the ones that have suffered most from this hangover from an August of big sales are exactly the ones that sold the most before the WLTP came into force.
Audi release"After above average sales results in recent months motivated by the sale of models in stock, difficulties in the delivery of new vehicles affected sales in the month of September and some fluctuation in sales figures is to be expected in the coming months."
So, to give you an idea, remember that Audi was the third best-selling brand in August? Who had sales growth of around 33%? Well, what it won in August, it lost in September, with sales falling by around 56% in Europe last month, and all due to failures in the delivery of new cars driven by the WLTP that led to the stands being empty and showing results. well below those they presented in the previous month.
However, the Volkswagen group, to which Audi belongs, has already reported that the best-selling versions of the parent brand's models are all approved according to the WLTP cycle, which, according to the brand, will help alleviate the problems of new car deliveries that have affected sales after September 1st.