To end the year down 8% after the double-digit first-half loss, French consumers will need to buy 817,000 cars in the second half for an H2 decline of about 4%, compared with like-2012.
While young drivers make up 9% of the European population, those aged 18-24 account for 20% of the highway fatalities in the region. Some 76,000 people were killed on roadways between 2000 and 2009.
“There is a shift from car ownership to transportation services, integrated mobility, car-sharing, car-pooling and car-Web integration,” says advisor Peter Fuss of the Ernst & Young consultancy.
“Flat is the new up,” AlixPartners Stefano Aversa says. “The good news is that the decline will stop, but the bad news is that it will not get better anytime soon.”
Tesla’s expansion in Europe will be followed by its entry into Asian markets in the fall. CEO Elon Musk forecasts 21,000 worldwide Model S sales this year.
Demographics, ownership trends and the age of the fleet all are working against a long-term European rebound, auto industry analyst Stuart Pearson says.
European Commission rules governing the source of biomass have damaged the profit outlook for early producers and chilled investment in second-generation biofuels that will make fuel from agricultural wastes.
The laboratory is part of PSA’s Open Lab initiative designed to reduce the auto maker’s R&D costs while helping researchers move their ideas toward development.
Researcher Elisabeth Gouvernal says about 35% of 18- and 19-year-olds had drivers’ licenses in 1983, but in 2010 only 19% did. Of all segments of the population, only retirees are driving more now than earlier...
PSA, the leading group in France, saw deliveries fall 8.2% in May compared with year-ago’s 15.4% drop. Volkswagen, Ford and BMW also suffered declines that were less than their like-2012 losses.