Europe sees a drop in auto sales due to strikes in Italy

Europe sees a drop in auto sales due to strikes in Italy

For the fifth consecutive month, the auto sector in the European market saw a drop in sales. It has been blamed on the strikes in the Italian market affecting companies like Fiat, Mazda, and DaimlerChrysler. Italy is the third biggest car market in the region and the truckers strike has affected the overall figure for the Europe.

The sales in May 2004 were 1.31 million vehicles. These were down to 1.29 million vehicles last month showing a drop of 1.7%. The overall sales for the first five months are down to 6.64 million cars which itself is down 2.4%.

European Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement: “The May figure was heavily influenced by the significant drop in Italy”. The strike began on April 26 and their were no vehicles delivered to the showroom for almost a month. In fact, unemployment in this sector has rose to a five-year high along with the ever-rising fuel prices. Everything added to the misery of the auto companies.

Fiat is one of the most affected companies due to these strikes. Their group sales plunged 27 percent in May to 70,956 vehicles. Their market share has dropped down to 5.5% in the Western Europe.