VOLKSWAGEN, BMW DOMINATE EUROPE

BMW and Volkswagen appear to be the winners in a soft market, as their European deliveries increased over competitors’. VW sold 12.5% more cars last month (294 309), while BMW gained 6.8% more sales to 110 198 units. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz sold just 65 099 cars.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroën, Europe’s second-largest automaker, did not have a great month as it only sold 133 469 cars. Models that kept it going include the new Citroën C4, DS3 and DS4, as well as the Peugeot 508 family sedan.

Keeping BMW ahead is the 5 Series and the X3, while Volkswagen’s new Passat, Jetta, as well as Audi’s A6 and Q5 are sales leaders.

There is however, a growing concern among the manufacturers that there is a global double dip recession on the way. Should this happen, we could see car sales return to 2008 - 2009 levels, or even worse.