German registrations plunged 31 percent last month as sales dried up following the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure, or WLTP, on September 1. Most mass-market brands dropped last month. Audi decreased the most, falling 78 percent, followed closely by fellow VW Group brand Porsche, with a 76 percent drop. The group’s core VW brand was next with a 62 percent fall. Seat volume was down 55 percent and Skoda 44 percent. Source Automotive News Europe
French schools are to replace the words “mother” and “father” with “parent 1” and “parent 2” under a controversial same sex amendment to a law passed this week. Source: Telegraph
Slow global trade, auto industry troubles and low water on the Rhine all contributed to a final-quarter GDP of zero percent, meaning Europe’s biggest economy staved off a technical recession by the smallest of margins. Source: Deutsche Welle
“Unfortunately, anti-European forces will enjoy a competitive advantage in the balloting. There are several reasons for this, including the outdated party system that prevails in most European countries, the practical impossibility of treaty change, and the lack of legal tools for disciplining member states that violate the principles on which the European Union was founded,” he said. Source: CNBC
