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Car Sales in Europe Drop Due to WLTP Regulations
12 November 2018
As individuals responsible for your fleet of vehicles, it is important to keep on top of the latest news and legislative changes in the market. Since the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) was activated at the beginning of September 2018, there have been mixed reviews from people who manage fleets of vehicles throughout the continent.
It has been estimated that 1.12 million vehicles were registered in September 2018, a 343,000 fall from the previous year. This sharp drop in registration of European vehicles has been as a result of ongoing problems with preparing cars to meet the tough new WLTP tests. It is estimated that only 57% of current vehicles registered in the month of September currently meet these new test standards.
Germany has felt the full force of these legislative changes over the past few weeks. In Frankfurt, registrations for new vehicles plummeted 31% last month. Prior to the introduction of WLTP, brands such as Volkswagen and other leading names in the industry had saturated the market before the legislation, to give the company a 25% profit increase across all sales in August. The VW Group were aware of the implications WLTP would have on its newly produced vehicles, and as a result, decided to rent car parks and open parking spaces across Europe to store the vehicles which currently do not meet the requirements.
A proactive approach to tackling WLTP is for fleet managers need to select the right vehicles that meet the legislation, because failing to do so can incur additional unwanted costs.
To find out more on the Marshall Leasing way of helping businesses manage their vehicle assets, please visit our Fleet Management section on our website here.
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