Richard Shamoon - Market Analysis Of The Automotive Sector In Europe

Globalization requires mobility. A decline in the effects of globalization is currently not in sight, nor is a decrease in demand for mobility. Global mobility is as relevant as mobility in the literal sense of everyday trips and travel, both business and private. Although more and more people live in cities, most of them are still dependent on cars. The main reason for an increase of passenger car registrations are the divers. According to Richard Shamoon demand for mobility increases especially when living and working take place in different locations. Furthermore, occupational mobility has expanded and become normal. Also, leisure activities and holidays require more mobility than they have in the past.

To understand the reasons for the development of automotive financing and the related change in finance products, it is important to take an overall look at the development of and factors influencing the automotive markets in Europe.

There are significant differences between the automotive markets of the various European countries, mainly due to cultural diversity and different economic situations. However, the markets have gone through similar developments in recent years. Triggered by the financial crisis in 2008, the number of car sales decreased in all markets. In 2014, some markets started to recover and showed an increase in registration of new passenger cars. As a result, new car registrations in Europe reached 12.55 million. This reflects an increase of 5.6% compared to 2013 and was the first positive growth rate in six years. Nevertheless, registrations are still far below the peak before the financial crisis. At that time almost 16 million registrations were counted.

In June 2015 significantly more new passenger cars were rolling onto the streets again. New registrations in Europe rose by 14.6% to 1.36 million. As of today, almost every automotive market in Europe has recovered from the financial crisis and has returned to positive growth rates. In terms of new passenger car registrations, the differences between the automotive markets in European countries are apparent. The following chart breaks down new passenger car registrations by country in 2014.