FRANKFURT: Registrations of new cars in Germany spiked in May compared with the same month last year, official data showed Friday.
The number of new cars on German roads grew 12.9 percent last month compared with May 2016, reaching 324,000, the KBA transport authority reported.
Observers watch new car sales in Europe’s powerhouse closely as an indicator of the health of the economy. The number of vehicles bought for corporate fleets — some 64 percent of the total — grew faster, at 15.5 percent, while individual purchases showed a smaller but still sharp jump of 8.5 percent.
Among German manufacturers, Volkswagen (VW) remained the largest by registrations, with 18.6 percent of the market despite falling sales, followed by Mercedes with a 9.7 percent share and VW’s subsidiary Audi at 8.4.
The most popular imported brands in Germany were Skoda — another VW subsidiary — Renault and Fiat.
Over the first five months of the year, car sales had increased some 3.7 percent to almost 1.7 million, the KBA figures showed.
But while overall registrations had increased thanks to an extra shopping day in the month compared with May last year, diesel-powered cars continued to lose ground, analysts at consultancy Ernst and Young noted.
In May, petrol-powered cars represented 57 percent of cars sold, while diesels fell back to 40 percent — down from some 46 percent a year ago.
It was “the biggest decrease since 2009,” the analysts said.
Diesels’ popularity has taken a blow in Germany from VW’s emissions cheating scandal, in which the carmaker admitted to installing software to fool emissions tests on some 11 million cars worldwide.
The city of Stuttgart, home to historic carmakers Porsche and Daimler, will ban diesel cars not meeting the latest, strictest Euro 6 standards from its center at times of peak pollution from 2018.
Other cities could follow suit, leaving buyers afraid a new diesel car could lose rapidly in value in the coming years.
Meanwhile, there were big increases in sales for hybrid and all-electric vehicles in Germany.
But the absolute numbers remain small, with 6,843 hybrids and 1,520 electrics registered in May.
German car sales rev up as diesel sputters
German car sales rev up as diesel sputters
Acwa appoints Samir Serhan as CEO in planned succession
RIYADH: Saudi utility developer Acwa appointed Samir J. Serhan as CEO effective March 1, replacing Marco Arcelli in a planned leadership transition as the company accelerates global expansion in renewable energy, desalination and green hydrogen.
The Tadawul-listed company said the appointment forms part of a structured succession plan approved by its board, taking into account the scheduled expiration of Arcelli’s contract in April 2027. Arcelli, who has led Acwa since March 2023, will remain adviser to the chairman to support an orderly transition, according to a regulatory disclosure to Tadawul.
The leadership change comes as Acwa — one of the world’s largest private desalination companies and a major investor in energy transition projects — continues to scale its international portfolio amid rising demand for clean power and water infrastructure.
Mohammad Abunayyan, founder and chairman of the board of directors of Acwa, said: “Acwa stands today as a Saudi national champion and a global leader in renewable energy, water desalination, and green hydrogen, and our position continues to strengthen.”
He added: “This structured leadership transition reflects the strength of our governance and the maturity of our business platform. Our strategic direction remains clear and unchanged. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Samir Serhan to his new role as CEO of Acwa.”
Serhan joined Acwa last year as president of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, where he was responsible for seven key markets, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Iraq.
“I’m honored to lead Acwa at a pivotal moment as the company accelerates profitable global growth in renewable energy, water desalination, and green hydrogen solutions — including advancing green hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industries — to deliver scalable, sustainable impact worldwide,” said Serhan.
Previously, Serhan served as chief operating officer of the US-based company Air Products, where he had global responsibility for operational business and project execution with profit and loss accountability across the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India. He also led technology, global engineering, manufacturing and equipment functions at Air Products.
Earlier in his career, he was president, Hydrogen for Praxair. For 14 years prior, he worked at the Linde Group in leadership positions in the US and Germany, culminating in his role as managing director of Linde Engineering.
Acwa, recently rebranded from ACWA Power, is a key developer of power and water infrastructure projects under public-private partnership models and plays a central role in Saudi Arabia’s energy transition strategy.
