Brussels/Berlin - Leading Asian carmakers have continued to make inroads into Europe's intensely competitive auto market, data released Friday showed. Drawn up by the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), the figures showed Japan's biggest carmaker Toyota posting a 12.9 per cent jump during the first three months of the year.
Toyota, which is also the world's second biggest carmaker, reported a 6.2 per cent rise in sales last month in Europe.
The increase came despite a weakening Western European market with key European carmakers reporting a decline in sales last month and resulting in total auto registrations stagnating during the first three months of the year.
Indeed, while Japan's Honda posted a 17.6 per cent increase in the first quarter, Germany's DaimlerChrysler and BMW, along with France's Renault and its Peugeot-Citroen group reported a slide in sales during the last three months.
This resulted in a 0.2 per cent fall in total car registrations in Europe during the first three months of the year, with the figures dragged down by a slump in Germany following a hefty increase in the nation's value-added tax in January.
However, despite the solid performance by both Toyota and Honda, the European auto market continued to prove to be problematic for several other Asian car makers.
The ACEA figures showed big falls during the first three months of the year for Japan's Hyundai, Nissan and Mazda. South Korea's Kia group also posted a 5.7 per cent drop in the opening months of 2007.
