Economic recession might not have officially arrived – but the European car market is already suffering.Car sales in Germany, the continent’s biggest market, fell by 14 per cent in March compared with the same period last year. Italy and Spain had even bigger declines, with falls of 19 per cent and 28 per cent respectively, although the Spanish figure was influenced in part by the ending of scrapping incentives on older cars.Figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that most mainstream makers have suffered from the decline; Ford posted a 12 per cent drop in sales, GM’s and VW’s figures both fell 13 per cent and Peugeot saw a 14 per cent dip.The figures will trigger alarm across the car industry, which is already suffering from over-capacity and profit margins that have been cut to the bone. New-car purchases are traditionally one of the first areas of consumer spending to suffer in an economic downturn.There was some good news in the report, though; Nissan posted an increase in sales on the back of the success of the Sunderland-built Qashqai, posting a 37 per cent year-on-year increase.
