Paralyzed by logistical problems, the European market for new cars fell in 2022 to its level of 1993, a dark year for the automotive industry, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) announced on Wednesday.
Despite a slight improvement in sales since August, the market fell by 4.6% over the year, with 9.3 million new vehicles sold. This is almost as low as in 1993, with its 9.2 million vehicles sold.
The year 2022 is thus a third complicated year for the automotive industry, following a year 2020 marked by factory closures and health restrictions, and a year 2021 affected by shortages of electronic chips, essential for the assembly of cars, and the logistical problems that have dampened hopes of a lasting recovery.
Deferred purchases
The war in Ukraine and the price inflation that followed it may also have pushed consumers to postpone their purchase, but this effect is difficult to assess and most manufacturers are showing full order books.
The rise in energy prices might, on the other hand, limit the margins of manufacturers who have so far posted, for the most part, excellent financial results despite the crisis.
Complicated start to the year
In 2022, among the major markets, only Germany remained stable (+1.1%), with a month of December with a bang.
France fell over the year by 7.8%, Italy by 9.7%, Spain by 5.4%, Poland by 6%, the Netherlands by 3.2% and Belgium by 4.4%.
The favorable end of the year, with five consecutive months of growth and a month of December at +12.8%, did not catch up with a start to the year that was greatly slowed down by chip shortages, underlines the ACEA.
ats/gma
