Key findings: P6343.2 - Motor trade sales, April 2009

Motor trade sales decrease

Motor trade sales for the three months ended April 2009 decreased by 14,9% compared with the three months ended April 2008, while the corresponding growth for the same period in 2008 was 8,7%.

The major contributors to the decrease of 14,9% were new vehicle sales (-11,3 percentage points) and fuel sales  (-2,3 percentage points. New vehicle sales for the three months ended April 2009 decreased by 36,0% compared with the three months ended April 2008.

Motor trade sales for April 2009 decreased by 20,9% compared with April 2008, while sales for the corresponding period in 2008 increased by 18,0%. Lower sales in April 2009 may be partly attributed to a shorter trading month compared to April 2008 due to the Easter period that switched from March in 2008 to April in 2009.

Seasonally adjusted motor trade sales for the three months ended April 2009 decreased by 3,5% compared with the three months ended January 2009.