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Bloomberg
European car sales fell the most in four years in April as the shift of Easter from March reduced buyers’ time for shopping, while registrations in the UK were further sapped by tax changes.
With at least two fewer selling days compared with a year ago, industrywide registrations dropped 6.8 percent to 1.23 million vehicles last month, according to the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA. Regional leader Volkswagen AG and fifth-ranked Ford Motor Co. lost market share to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Renault SA, which are attracting customers with sport utility vehicles.
Sales plunged 20 percent in the UK after a new vehicle-excise duty went into effect on April 1. That could set the stage for further drops in demand amid the fallout from Britain’s preparations to exit the European Union, including a declining pound.