Car markets in free fall in January. Romania drops 53%

The new car registrations in Europe recorded a severe drop in January, losing an average of 27%. Out of 28 surveyed markets, all of them saw losses, while six dropped more than 50%, the European Car Constructors’ Association informs. Following the trends of the past few months, Land Rover and Chrysler were the brands with the most significant sales drop. Romanian car producer Dacia sold 33% less cars in January, compared to January 2008.

In all 28 states, a total of 958,000 new cars were registered in January, compared to over 1.3 million in January 2008. The most important losses were recorded in Iceland (-88%), Latvia (-77%), Lithuania (-67%), Ireland (-66%), Estonia (-62%) and Romania (-53%).

The large markets were also affected, even though less catastrophic: Germany lost 14%, France – 8%, Spain – 42%, UK – 31%.

The only brand that sold better in January, compared to last year’s first month, was Jaguar, increasing 19%, up to 2,000 units. Land Rover lost 62%, from over 9,000 to less than 4,000 units, while Chrysler dropped from over 9,000 units to less than 5,000.

The largest market share belongs to Volkswagen (11%), followed by Ford (9.3%), Peugeot (7.1%) and Fiat (7%).