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Volvo sales continue rise in Europe

Volvo Cars is continuing to triumph in the European market. In May, the company increased sales by 18.6 percent while the overall market shrank compared to the same period last year

Published: 15 June 2010 14:24 CEST
Volvo sales continue rise in Europe

Volvo Cars sold 17,882 vehicles in May in the countries covered by professional body European Automobile Manufacturers’ Assocation’s (ACEA’s) statistics – the EU plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

The increase of 18.6 percent was one of the largest for any car brand. Only Land Rover and Lexus, which both in absolute terms sold considerably less than Volvo, noted higher percentage increases compared with last May.

Total sales fell in ACEA’s territory by 8.7 percent, according to preliminary figures announced on Tuesday. In a press release, ACEA mentioned two reasons for the decline.

The economic situation in Europe has become harsher and in some quarters, government support has ended. In Germany, car companies lost a total of 35 percent of its sales.

However, in the first five months of the year, car sales in Europe increased 2.3 percent compared with same period in 2009, with Volvo’s share rising 23.5 percent. Volvo also increased its share of the European market from 1.3 to 1.6 percent.

Volvo is currently owned by Ford, which has agreed to sell the company to Geely Automobile of China, in a deal expected to be completed in the autumn.

Saab is no longer recognized individually the statistics. Saab cars are included under “other brands.”

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EUROPE

Brussels warns Italy to rein in public spending amid pandemic

Most EU member states should continue to invest to support the continent's economic recovery, but heavily-indebted Italy should rein in public spending, the European Commission warned on Wednesday.

Published: 24 November 2021 16:07 CET
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expects the country's GDP to recover in the coming year. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / POOL / AFP

“The economy is bouncing back from the recession, driven by a rebound in demand across Europe,” EU executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said.

“But we are not out of the woods yet. The economic outlook remains riddled with uncertainty,” he said, warning that the coronavirus is still spreading, prices are rising and supply chains face disruption.

Despite these unpredictable threats, European officials predict a strong recovery, and want eurozone governments to maintain their “moderately supportive fiscal stance” to support investment.

EXPLAINED: How Italy’s proposed new budget could affect you

Italy, however, remains a worry. Its public debt passed 155 percent of its GDP last year, and Brussels is worried that it is still budgeting to spend too much next year.

“In order to contribute to the pursuit of a prudent fiscal policy, the Commission invites Italy to take the necessary measures within the national budgetary process to limit the growth of nationally financed current expenditure,” the commission report said.

The commission did not say by how much Italy’s spending plans should be reduced, and its recommendation is not binding on the government.

The European Union suspended its fiscal discipline rules last year, allowing eurozone members to boost their public spending to help their economies survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the European commissioner for the economy, former Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni, said governments should now “gradually pivot fiscal measures towards investments”.

“Policies should be differentiated across the euro area to take into account the state of the recovery and fiscal sustainability,” he said.

“Reducing debt in a growth-friendly manner is not necessarily an oxymoron.”

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, has said Italy’s economy is recovering after the pandemic-induced recession.

Draghi forecast economic growth this year of “probably well over six percent” in a statement on October 28th.

Italy’s GDP rate grew by 2.6% in the third quarter of 2021.

While economists don’t expect Italian GDP to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels until 2022, ratings agency Standard & Poor has revised its outlook for Italian debt from stable to positive.

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