Auto sales collapsed in Europe in January, falling 24% year-on-year, according to figures released Wednesday by manufacturers.
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These figures follow an unprecedented drop in car sales in 2020, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, with an annual market falling to less than ten million vehicles, or 3 million less than in 2019 , had indicated the manufacturers in mid-January.
In January, almost all the markets of the European Union showed double-digit declines "
as restrictions linked to Covid continue to weigh heavily on sales,
" said the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) in a press release Wednesday.
726,491 vehicles were sold in January 2021 against 956,447 in January 2020, a return to the very low level of 2013.
Spain has notably fallen by 51.5%, Germany by 31.1%, Belgium by 27.2%, Poland by 18.3%, the Netherlands by 20% and Italy by 14%.
France posted a smaller decline of 5.8%, while Sweden recorded growth of 22.5% in January.
Worst start to the year since 1970 for the UK
Close to the Union, the United Kingdom saw auto sales plunge 39.5%, the worst start to the year since 1970, while Switzerland posted a decline of 19.5%.
In Germany, Europe's largest market, vehicle sales have fallen sharply with the end of the reduced VAT rate and the closure of dealerships due to the pandemic.
Spain recorded its worst month of January since the indicator was created in 1989. The sector considers in particular that the new pollution standards which entered into force in January have led motorists to anticipate their purchase.
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The European leader Volkswagen is strongly affected with a drop of 26.8% at group level.
Stellantis (the new Peugeot-Fiat group) fell 26.1%, notably with a sharp decline in Citroën and Opel.
Renault lost 21.6%.
The premium groups are doing better, BMW and Daimler each posting a decline of 14.2%.
Hyundai loses 23.4%, Toyota 17.3% and Ford 19%.