Easter holiday affects European car sales
European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) disclosed that European car sales amounted to 1.71 million units in March 2005, down 4.7% from 1.79 million units sold in March 2004. ACEA indicates that the March figures were strongly influenced by the Easter holiday as car showrooms were closed for one to three days. In addition, the figures reflect the weakness of the economy in the first quarter of 2005. Vehicle sales in the first three months of 2005 dropped 3.3% year on year, from 4.12 million units to 3.99 million units. France is the only country among the five main markets to report an increase (2.5%) in March sales. Germany (-0.4%), Spain (-3.6%), the UK (-5.1%) and Italy (-8.6%) all posted losses. Italian automaker Fiat's market share fell from 7.2% in March 2004 to 6.2% in March 2005 as sales dropped 16.7% to 101.843 units. Sales at Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest automaker, fell 4.1% to 149'371 units. DaimlerChrysler's sales fell 2.6% to 95'050 units. European sales of General Motors Corp, the world's largest carmaker, dropped 2.4% to 185'942 units; however its market share increased slightly from 11.2% to 11.3%.