German car market is weak
Germany's automotive market remains sluggish. According to a report from Xinhua News Agency on March 19, 2004, the German Federal Motor Transport Authority revealed that in February of that year, approximately 221,100 new vehicles were registered in Germany. While this marked a 7.6% increase compared to January, it still represented a 2.7% decline when compared to the same period in the previous year.
Looking at the first two months of 2004, total new car sales in Germany reached 432,300 units, a drop of about 35,600 vehicles or 7.7% compared to the same period in 2003. This decline highlights the weak recovery in the German auto market.
Among major manufacturers, Opel saw a significant drop in sales, falling by 19.4%, with its market share dropping by 1.5 percentage points to 10.3%. French automaker Renault also experienced a sharp decline, with sales down 23% and market share slipping from 6% to 5%. Ford's sales fell by 10.6% during the same period.
Volkswagen AG, which had long dominated the German market, performed relatively better. Its sales decreased by 4.5%, but its market share increased slightly from 29.6% to 30.6%. DaimlerChrysler and BMW also faced declines, with sales down by 9.4% and 9.9%, respectively. Their market shares dropped by 0.3 and 0.2 percentage points, reaching 13.2% and 8.2% respectively.
Meanwhile, Japanese automaker Toyota emerged as a clear winner in the German market, with sales rising by an impressive 43.5% and market share increasing from 2.7% to 4.2%. Overall, Asian automakers saw their cumulative sales rise by 11.8%, and their combined market share grew from 12.1% in the same period of 2003 to 14.7% in early 2004. This shift signals a growing presence of Asian brands in one of Europe’s most competitive automotive markets.
Dmc Kneading Machine,Dmc Mixing Equipment,Rubber Mixing Machine,Ready Mix Compound Machine
Laizhou Baisheng Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. , https://www.baishengsmc.com