Europe Auto Industry

The motor vehicle market in Europe (excluding the UK) consists of passenger vehicles and trucks. Passenger vehicles comprise cars and utility vehicles.

Market size of the Europe auto industry

The motor vehicle market in Europe (excluding the UK) marginally fell by 0.1 percent in 2003.  The market for passenger vehicles and trucks declined from 15.84 million units in 2002 to 15.63 million units in 2003.  The US auto industry registered sales of 16.93m and the Japan auto industry had sales of 5.18m. Within Europe, the UK auto industry had sales of 2.94m units. Out of the most rapidly developing nations, the China auto industry had the largest amount of sales in 2003 at 4.44m units, and the India auto industry saw sales of 1.17m units. 

GDP and motor vehicle growth in the Europe auto industry

The European economy has been experiencing low economic growth in the past four years, see figure 21 overleaf. Purchase full report here. Falling consumer demand accentuated by increasing unemployment levels has led to the fall in demand of motor vehicles in this region.

Passenger vehicle and truck sales in the Europe auto industry

Sales of passenger vehicles have been falling continuously in the last five years, see figure 22. Unit sales fell from 14.94 million in 1999 to 13.54 million in 2003 owing to saturation in Western Europe. Although the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe are showing signs of growth, volumes are not high enough to have any meaningful impact on overall sales. The European market is witnessing a shift in consumption pattern from small cars (minis, super-minis and lower-medium cars) to sports utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles. Small cars constitute 33 percent of European auto sales, but shrinking as more and more consumers opt for compact mini-vans and utility vehicles.  SUV’s accounted for nearly 5 percent of the total sales volume of 15.63 million new-car sales in 2003, up from less than 2 percent in 1990. Sports vehicle sales grew by 11.44 percent in 2003 following a wave of new model introductions.

Slow economic growth in Western Europe caused a slow down in overall truck sales. Sales of trucks below 3.5 tons stagnated in 2003 at 1.53 million units, after reaching a peak of 1.67 million units in 2000, see figure 23 overleaf. Central and Eastern Europe recorded strong positive economic growth, but the increased flow of used vehicles from Western Europe held back sales of new trucks.

Major players in the Europe auto industry

Volkswagen maintained its market share in Europe at 18.2 percent, see table 10, and continues to be the market leader in passenger vehicles. Peugeot Citroen’s sales declined marginally due to the sluggish French market and the appreciation of the euro against the dollar. Ford (see Ford profile) and General Motors (see General Motors profile) lost market share marginally in Europe, while the Japanese companies, who were able to improve their market share from 11.7 percent in 2002 to 12.7 percent in 2003, were the major winners. Toyota (see Toyota profile) and other Japanese carmakers improved their market share by selling better quality vehicles, but they are nowhere near the critical mass that local players have. 

Peugeot Citroen increased its share of the European light commercial vehicles market (trucks < 3.5 tons) from 19.4 percent in 2002 to 20.4 percent in 2003 (see table 11) owing to new product launches and spruced-up servicing and distribution network. The market share of the Renault Group declined from 15.9 percent in 2002 to 15.1 percent in 2003 due to an unfavorable product-mix and an overall weaker performance.

DaimlerChrysler led the commercial vehicle market (trucks > 3.5 tons) with a 22.1 percent market share and the Mercedes brand continued to be the biggest revenue driver for DaimlerChrysler (see DaimlerChrysler profile). Fiat(Iveco) continued to improve its market share to 15.5 percent in 2003, see table 12 overleaf. Volvo is the largest producer of heavy trucks in the world with a share of 12.8 percent. Its European market position is further strengthened by its control of Renault (see Renault profile). The combined sales of Volvo and Renault make Volvo the second largest player in Europe.

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