Higher fuel prices? Higher registration taxes? Economic downturn? Might these three issues be the reasons why cars that produce more than 200 g/km of CO₂ just aren't being purchased in Spain as much as they used to be. Sales of vehicles in this segment sunk by 44 percent during the first four months of 2008, compared to 2007 figures. All car sales were down, but the most polluting cars were the most affected: Vehicles producing between 161 and 200 g/km of CO₂ sold 30 percent less, while sales of the 121 to 160 g/km of CO₂ segment were down by just 10 percent. These figures confirm the trends observed in February.

Remarkably, SUVs were slightly less affected than large sedans: Sales of SUVs producing more than 200 g/km of CO₂ were down by 37.4 percent, compared to 53.7 percent for passenger cars in the same emissions category. As a result, the average car sold in Spain now produces 4.6 percent less CO₂ than last year, at 150.7 g/km of CO₂. This translates to slightly less power per average car, 118.5 HP (down by 0.75 percent) but also better mileage: 17.5 km per liter (about 42 mpg U.S. - EU highway cycle), which is 2.8 percent better than last year.

Spain's Registration Tax (also called "Inmatriculation") might be the reason. This tax is paid when purchasing a new vehicle. It changed on January 1st and became dependent on CO₂ emission levels, encouraging cleaner vehicle purchases. The new rate is zero percent for cars producing less than 120 g/km, 4.75 percent for cars between 121 and 160 g/km, 9.75 percent between 161 and 200 g/km and 14.75 percent if the vehicle produces more than 201 g/km of CO₂

[Source: Faconauto via Econoticias]

We take it for granted that Europeans love diesels. This is quite a save statement if you're talking about countries like France or Spain, where diesel sales make up around 65 percent of all car sold. This might be changing, though, as recent changes in fuel prices has made the diesel vehicles less attractive. Since February, diesel has been more expensive than gasoline in Spain. The same shift happened in France in May and a similar situation is happening in Germany. This brings about at least two interesting situations.

First of all, the decline in car sales in Spain is affecting diesel cars more than petrol ones. The high diesel prices hurt, but a new registration tax scheme made for a milder decrease in sales of small and subcompact cars than in past months. A bit of surprising news comes from Germany, where one out of four diesel owners state that their next new car will likely be a gasoline vehicle, thanks in part to the complexity of owning a diesel and the high repair costs. Things even look worse for old models: those cars not fitted with Diesel Particulate Filters aren't likely to be purchased second hand (and will probably end up in Southern Europe), mostly due to the restrictions in some cities.

[Source: El País, Auto-Presse]

This is a post about one of the car market's most known voices: The Kelly Blue Book. According to KBB's latest marketing research study, more consumers are changing car shopping habits because of gas prices. And it's not a small number who are looking for help: KBB's report states 60 it's percent. Furthermore, 43 percent stated that they could consider seriously buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle if gas prices goes up another 25 cents over current levels.

This is not the first report that focus on gas prices related to the purchase of more efficient vehicles. What is interesting is that the report clearly says that it's not an interest in the environment what drives motorist to look for fuel efficiency, but a view of their wallets.

[Source: Kelley Blue Book]

You might remember that France has a tax rebate system (bonus/malus) for vehicles depending on their CO₂ emissions. As in the UK and in Spain, car sales in the first trimester of 2008 have been remarkably affected. For instance, 50 percent of car sales are of vehicles under four meters long.

The most remarkable increase has been found in the category which receives the bonus. Sales of cars that emit less than 130 g/km CO₂ were up by 13 percent. Sales of larger cars in the medium-upper segment were down by 10 percent. The biggest lost came in the upper-luxury market, where sales plummeted 34 percent.

Coming from a French perspective, this is good news: French automakers have just released small attractive models (Twingo, 207) and, on average, their models are the most fuel-efficient. PSA and Renault account for 60 percent of small car sales. The two companies get 52 percent of market share of cars that emit between 121 and 140 g/km CO₂ but only 32 percent for those in the 161 to 200 g/km segment..

[Source: Les Echos]

Overall, car sales in the U.S. dropped about three percent last month, which was not as bad as some analysts were guessing. The somewhat better news for HEV fans is that sales of hybrids dropped only 1.9 percent, according to number crunching by Green Car Congress. The number of hybrids sold in the U.S. (excluding GM hybrids) last month was 22,859. Most of those, 18,130 units, were Toyotas. You can probably guess that the Prius made up more than half of the overall hybrid sales, with 12,494 units sold in September, up more than 19 percent compared to last September. Most other hybrid models saw year-on-year sales numbers decline.

For some nice graphs and more details, check out GCC's original post.

[Source: Chicago Tribune, Green Car Congress]