European Union car makers, except luxury brands, are no nearer getting back on the road to growth, data released yesterday show.
Sales fell to a 19-year low, with French companies PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault, and their Italian competitor Fiat posting the biggest drops, as a euro-zone recession hurts demand.
"The Latin car makers are historically more exposed to southern European markets, which are plunging. This may go on next year," said Florent Couvreur, an analyst at CM-CIC Securities in Paris.
Eleven-month registrations in the 27-nation EU fell 7.6 per cent to 11.3 million vehicles, the lowest figure for the period since 1993, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (Acea) said yesterday. The decline was propelled by a 10 per cent plunge last month.
The 17-country euro zone went into a recession in the third quarter. The European Central Bank is predicting none of the nations will post economic growth until 2014, the year car-industry executives also forecast an initial recovery in Europe's vehicle market. German car makers' regional market share last month rose at the expense of their French and Italian peers, with BMW beating Fiat for the month.
"There are clearly two worlds: on one side, the German car makers and on the other, the Latin car makers," said Mr Couvreur.
Including Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, European car sales last month fell 10 per cent from a year earlier to 965,918 vehicles. Eleven-month sales declined 7.2 per cent to 11.7 million cars. That's the lowest figure for the region since 1994, said Quynh-Nhu Huynh, the Acea's economics and statistics director.
The association has predicted a full-year market contraction to about 12 million cars, the fewest cars sold in Europe since 1995 and the sharpest decline since 1993.
There is "little reason to believe that EU volumes will grow next year, which means that the spread between EU-focused and export-oriented original-equipment manufacturers will only continue to widen," said Erich Hauser, a London-based analyst at Credit Suisse.
BMW, the world's biggest manufacturer of luxury cars, increased European sales 0.4 per cent last month to 67,200 vehicles, the only group-wide gain among the top seven car sellers in the region, according to the Acea.
Its market share last month rose to 7 per cent from 6.2 per cent a year earlier.
Peugeot's group sales in Europe fell 16 per cent last month to 105,284 vehicles, reducing the manufacturer's market share to 10.9 per cent from 11.7 per cent. Renault's European sales plunged 27 per cent to 82,885 cars, accounting for 8.6 per cent of the market versus 10.6 per cent. Fiat's sales in Europe fell 13 per cent last month to 59,152 cars, narrowing the company's market share to 6.1 per cent from 6.3 per cent.
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, posted a 2.5 per cent decline in sales in the region last month to 248,690 vehicles, as demand dropped 4.5 per cent at the VW brand and 2.3 per cent at its Audi marque.
* with Bloomberg News
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The%20specs
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The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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Formula%204%20Italian%20Championship%202023%20calendar
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0 l/100 km
Price: Dh235,000
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Company%20profile
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FORSPOKEN
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Company%20of%20Heroes%203
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Star%20Wars%20Jedi%3A%20Survivor
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Final%20Fantasy%20XVI
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Street%20Fighter%206
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Diablo%20IV
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Blizzard%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Blizzard%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20PS5%2C%20XSX%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%20June%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Baldur's%20Gate%203
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Bethesda%20Game%20Studios%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Bethesda%20Softworks%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20Xbox%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez