Paris-Sana
The car sales sector in the European Union fell to a new record last year, due to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic and the shortage of electronic chips.
"These sales fell to 9.7 million vehicles last year, the worst performance since statistics began in 1990," the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers said today.
According to the association, car sales in the European Union recovered strongly in the second quarter of last year, but they fell by about 20 percent over the greater part of the second half of 2021, noting that the shortage of semiconductors, which are computer chips used in many car systems, whether traditional or electric, was the reason. The main decline in the sector.
While car manufacturers initially played down the impact of the lack of chips, production later slowed and sometimes factories shut down.
The shortage of chips is also among the repercussions of the Corona epidemic, as manufacturers are affected by the closure measures, the infection of employees with the virus, as well as the disruption of supply chains and the increasing global demand for electronic equipment.
The epidemic also led to a significant increase in the prices of many raw materials and caused labor shortages in some areas.
This decline comes after a historic decline in car sales in 2020 against the background of restrictions imposed by the Corona epidemic, which led to a decrease in new car registrations in the European Union by 3.3 million cars less than pre-crisis sales in 2019.
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