Unsold New Cars Are Piling Up-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A viral blog post claims that new automobiles are piling up around the world because so few people are buying new cars.
The Truth:
This eRumor is false because it uses photos that were taken shortly after the global economic meltdown in 2008 that devastated the auto industry, and it does not accurately reflect data that shows steady recovery in new car sales that has been made since.
The source for the eRumor was a blog entry was written by Vincent Lewis on May 28, 2013, which was found on his website called “Illustrated and Reference Reviews Site.” Lewis’ Amazon.com bio said that he was born in the United Kingdom, worked as a security operative for different companies, and researches conspiracy theories in his spare time. He also authored a book called the “Conspiracy Zone,” which was released in June 2013.
All the photos that accompany this blog were taken in the early months of 2009, shortly after the global economic crisis struck in September 2008.
A Getty Images Europe photographer took all of the overhead images that accompany this blog post at the Avonmouth Docks in Avonmouth, England, on Jan. 16, 2009.
The captions for these photos can still be found on the news entertainment website Zimbio.com and describe a dire situation facing the global automobile industry after the global economic meltdown of 2008:
A view of some of the thousands of unsold cars currently being stored at Avonmouth Docks on Jan. 16, 2009, at Avonmouth, England. Sales of new cars in the U.K. have slumped to a 12-year-low and production of cars at Honda in Swindon has been halted for a unprecedented four-month period because of the collapse in global sales and represents the longest continuous halt in production at any UK car plant. The announcement comes on a day when the EU’s Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen warned the outlook for the European car industry was “brutal” and predicted not all European manufacturers would survive the crisis.
The TruthorFiction.com Team reached out to the Bristol Port Company, which owns the Avonmouth Docks, for comment on how many cars are currently being stored there. Future updates will be posted here.
Additionally, the photo of white SUVs in a parking lot was taken on Feb. 18, 2009. It was featured on the Boston.com website in a photo package titled “Scenes From the Recession.”
Again, the photo caption describes how the global economic meltdown of 2008 impacted the automobile industry:
The eRumor’s claims about the current state of the automobile industry are also false, or misrepresented.
The U.K. auto industry has recovered steadily since a disastrous year in 2009 in which just 1.9 million cars were sold. Sales topped out at 2.26 million in 2013, according GoodCarBadCar.com, a website that tracks car sales.
SMMT source cited by GoodCarBadCar.net is the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders in the U.K.
Recovery in the United States has also been steady. CNN reported in January 2014 that U.S. car sales topped 15 million vehicles in 2013 for the first time since 2007.
In July 2013, Business Week reported that 3.27 million new cars were sitting in lots — the highest level in five years. But manufacturers intentionally boosted inventory levels because of increased sales and consumer interest, according to the article.
Sales in Spain were in fact down. Europe’s fifth largest automaker sold 1.6 million cars in 2007 and 700,000 in 2012, according to the 2013 edition of European Vehicle Market Statistics.
The New York Times also reported in March 2014 that Russian auto sales were expected to be low despite foreign investment. The reason, however, is the crisis in Ukraine and not lack of consumer interest in new cars, according to the article.
Posted 5/14/14