Volkswagen, BMW Leads European Brands in US

Anthony Fontanelle
July 4, 2007

The German companies Volkswagen and Bayerische Motoren Werke or simply known as BMW led European car manufacturers in terms of sales in the United States. These two car companies are successfully selling their small cars and luxury sports sedans in the country. The two are the biggest European car manufacturers and their success in the United States would only strengthen their hold on the top of the European auto standing.

Combined, the 15 European car manufacturers in the United States have sold 103,360 vehicles last month, an increase of 2.9 percent as compared to the same period last year. In contrast, American car manufacturers combined showed a decrease in sales by as much as 13 percent.

Analysts agree that the demand for luxury goods is still strong especially in the auto sector. While there were months when luxury car manufacturers posted reduced sales, the over all trend is strong. “Even though throughout the first half there was a month or two when some of the Europeans saw sales declining, overall the trend is strong,” said Wes Brown, an analyst for a Los Angeles-based market researcher Iceology Inc. “Luxury-branded products in every industry are doing well, especially in the automotive world.”

The increased in the sale of both Volkswagen and BMW came at an appropriate time. The two companies have suffered from reduced sale in Germany. The German auto market recently reported a decrease of 9 percent in the total number of new vehicles sold in the country for the first half of the year. Since BMW’s biggest market is the United States, it is understandable that this increase in sales in the country is a huge boost for the Bavarian car manufacturer.

“The U.S. market is particularly interesting for us,” says Matthias Wissman, the president of the VDA carmakers association in Germany. “We are well positioned in the U.S. market,” he added further.

Collectively, European brands now corner 7.1 percent of the United States auto market. This shows an increase of 0.4 percent. Asian brands meanwhile surge and are now almost on cruise control as they collectively cornered 42.7 percent of the United States auto market. American car manufacturers once again saw their share in their home market slip. According to Bloomberg, American car manufacturers now only have 50.3 percent of the market.

With this trend continuing, the prediction of analyst in the auto industry will come true. Earlier this year, it was projected that Asian and European car manufacturers will combine to take the majority of the United States auto market share.

Volkswagen is the largest European automaker and on its own, it has posted an increase in sale of Volkswagen transmission mount-equipped vehicles by 15 percent last month. The increase in the sale of the European car manufacturer is the result of the increased demand for the Volkswagen Eos, Jetta, and the Rabbit - all of which are small cars. The only blemish for Volkswagen is that its first half sale dropped by one percent.

BMW, on the other hand, is the largest luxury auto manufacturer. On its own, the Bavarian automaker posted an increase of 6 percent. Unlike Volkswagen, BMW posted an increase in its first half sale. Both the June and first half sale are record breaking for the car company. The demand for its best selling BMW 3 Series increased. As a result the BMW 3 Series posted an increase of 21 percent for the month of June compared to last year.

Source:  Amazines.com