The European car market, which had recovered in the spring after a year 2020 undermined by the health crisis, relapsed in July and August, according to figures released Thursday.
New car registrations in the European Union in July fell 23.2% from 2020, to 823,949, and 19.1% in August, to 622,993, says the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers ( ACEA) in a press release.
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The recovery is long overdue, with the effects of the health crisis and those of the global semiconductor shortage at stake.
However, the sector is keeping its head above water for the first eight months of 2021 thanks to the good performance of the spring, with an increase of 11.2%, or 6.8 million new passenger cars put on the roads.
France at the back of the pack
This result remains a long way from the more than 9 million in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, but slightly better than in 2020, which saw the number of new car registrations plunge due to lockdowns and closings of car shops. , with 6.1 million new vehicles registered over the first eight months.
In July, France recorded the sharpest drop (-35.3%) while, among the main manufacturers, it was the Renault group which suffered particularly (-39.5% of vehicles and 2.5 points less market share compared to 2020), ahead of Stellantis (-24.3%) and the European leader Volkswagen (-20.9%).
In August, the four main markets (Germany, France, Italy and Spain) observed for the second month in a row a drop of more than 10% in the number of new vehicles registered, like the main manufacturers.
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Stellantis (Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën, Opel / Vauxhall) recorded a drop of 29.7% that month, with 2.7 points of market share less compared to August 2020. The Renault group has observed a drop 20.6% without losing too much market share. Volkswagen remains largely number one, with 163,995 vehicles registered (-15.9%). In 2020, the European market collapsed from March to June but limited the breakage in July thanks to government stimulus measures adopted in several major European countries.
