In October, far fewer new passenger cars were registered in Europe than a year earlier. This is already happening for the fourth month in a row, reports car industry association ACEA, which points to the worldwide chip shortage as one of the causes.
In total, 665,001 new cars were sold in the European Union last month. That’s the lowest number since ACEA began tracking the numbers. Compared to a year earlier, more than 30 percent fewer new cars were registered. The major markets Italy, Germany and France pulled the average down. In the Netherlands, 23.7 percent fewer new cars were sold.
Measured over the first ten months of the year, things will still be better in 2021 than in corona year 2020. Earlier in the year there was talk of catch-up sales after car sales had fallen far in 2020. Until October, passenger car sales in the EU are 2.2 percent ahead of last year. Of the major car markets, Germany is clearly underperforming. More than 5 percent fewer cars were sold there than in the first ten months of 2020. Cars also sold better in the Netherlands last year than this year. The counter here stands at -7.1 percent for the first ten months of 2021. The Bovag and the Rai Association expect it to pick up slightly next year, but that the sales of new cars will still lag behind in comparison to 2019.
In October, Stellantis was the most successful carmaker in the EU, with a market share of 22.2 percent. In doing so, the group overtook the Volkswagen Group. Significantly fewer cars were sold, especially from the Volkswagen car brand. Over the first ten months of this year, the Volkswagen Group is still the largest.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl