BRUSSELS (Bloomberg) - European car sales declined for a seventh straight month in March as several countries struggled with slowing growth, adding to challenges for an industry shouldering record spending on electric and connected cars.
Automotive shares in Europe still rose after China beat expectations for first-quarter growth. Volkswagen AG, which sells about 40 percent of its vehicles there, gained as much as 1.6 percent rise with similar rise in the Stoxx Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts Index.
Prospects of an uptick in China, after 10 months of market contraction, would offer positive momentum in a global car market pullback where Europe is showing little sign of a turnaround. Italy, where the economy is already shrinking, may weaken further while falling car sales in Spain are in line with forecasts for a slowdown for an economy that’s been resilient so far. Germany, the continent’s biggest market, barely skirted a recession at the end of last year, and prospects for recovery remain dim.
Registrations in Europe dropped 3.6 percent in March to 1.77 million cars, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday. Italy led the declines among major markets with a drop of almost 10 percent, followed by Spain.
"An improvement in new car registrations isn’t on the horizon in light of the bleaker economic environment, the endless Brexit debate and political risks,” EY consultancy said in a report.
Volkswagen was up 1.2 percent at 158.54 euros at 10:33 a.m. in Frankfurt trading, trimming losses over the past year to 7.1 percent.