The effects of the corona crisis are clearly visible on the European car market, because after a cautious recovery, there is again a sharp drop in the number of registrations.
In November, 897,692 new cars were registered in Europe, 12 percent less than the same month in 2019. This is mainly due to the strict measures that various countries apply to curb the spread of the virus. September was actually the only month in which the car market fared better than last year. In October, the decline was already 7.8 percent, but it will only continue in November. Of the largest car markets, France recorded the strongest fall in November with minus 27 percent, followed by Spain with minus 18.7 percent. Italy and Germany have been hit a lot less hard with declines of 8.3 and 3 percent respectively. The Netherlands is not doing too well: we lost 14.3 percent in November compared to 2019.
Is there only negative news then? Not for some brands. The Volkswagen Group has to do with 13 percent fewer registered cars, but Audi shows a plus of 2.7 percent. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, on the other hand, have to admit -6.3 and -4.5 percent respectively on the past year. In absolute numbers, however, Mercedes-Benz is still the best-selling brand of the ‘German three’. Almost every car brand currently has to endure it, but the hardest blows fall at Mazda (-37.1 percent), Mitsubishi (-36.4 percent), Honda (-27.2 percent), Jaguar Land Rover (-27, 2 percent) and Ford (-20.5 percent).
The sharp decline in November means that the European car market will certainly no longer be able to catch up with the total backlog compared to last year. Over the first eleven months of 2020, the number of new registrations decreased by 25.5 percent compared to the same period last year. In concrete figures, this translates into 3 million fewer number plate registrations, the total for 2020 so far is about 9 million new cars registered. Given the current revival of the virus, it is not obvious that December will suddenly become a top month …