Everyday English – Eurozone car sales down again

• Source: Global Times
• [13:33 June 17 2009]
• Comments

New car registrations in Europe fell for the 13th straight month in May as many companies struggled to move metal without the benefit of cash incentives from governments, industry data published yesterday showed.

According to data from Brussels-based industry association ACEA, registrations fell 4.9 percent to 1.27 million vehicles in May, although most markets also had one fewer working day on average versus last year’s comparative month.

Whereas consumers largely eschewed luxury brands like Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, they cashed in on state subsidies in some markets to scrap old cars in favor of new, cheap models like Dacia’s no-frills Logan saloon and the Sandero hatchback where buyers could extract the most savings.

Renault’s low-cost Romanian marque saw its new car registrations double in May despite Dacia’s domestic market shrinking by half, giving the brand a two-percent share in Europe last month – equivalent to that of Japan’s Nissan.

Alone in the higher margin Western European market, Dacia more than tripled its sales to nearly 20,000 vehicles. Hyundai of South Korea gained by a quarter in May.

Benefiting little from the cars-for-clunkers scheme that has been propping up demand in the volume market, luxury and semi-premium brands experienced another overall disastrous month by comparison.
Overall registrations of new cars in Europe during the first five months of this year fell 13.9 percent to 5.96 million vehicles, ACEA data shows.

"The global demand crisis in the auto industry is not over, but there are initial indications that the downturn is decelerating,"Frankfurt’s VDA, the German automotive industry association, said in a separate statement.

Reuters

Notes:

Incentives – (noun) Something that stimulates someone to take action, to work harder, a kind of encouragement.

In order to encourage their sons and daughters to do well in gaokao, some wealthy parents gave them incentives, like promising to buy them a car or fancy gadgets.

Eschewed – (verb) To keep away from, to shun, to avoid.

During the recession in the US, many shoppers are eschewing expensive designer labels for generic fashion brands at a fraction of the price.

Clunkers – (noun) This is a slang word for an old car or machine that is practically worthless or in poor repair.

My friend Tom in the US says his father still has the first car he ever owned; it’s a clunker so it just stays in the garage collecting dust.

Propping up – (verb) To support, hold up.

The weak patient propped his head up by stacking some pillows so he could read a book comfortably.

When her parents found out she had heavy debts from spending so much money, they propped her up financially instead of trying to educate her on the importance of saving.