January was a disastrous month for new car sales in Europe, as manufacturers continued to be held back by shortages of electronic chips, according to figures they released on Thursday.
Read alsoUsed car sales also fell in January
With 682,596 cars sold in the European Union, manufacturers had their worst month of January since the start of the statistical series in 1990, with -6% compared to the record low of January 2021, specified the Association of European manufacturers. of automobiles (ACEA).
The main markets recorded double-digit declines, with France at -18.6%, Italy at -19.7%, Belgium at -10%, the Netherlands at -11.3% and the Poland at -10.2%, compared to January 2021. Only Germany rebounded by 8.5% compared to a very weak month of January 2021, while Spain remained stable (+1%).
Close to the EU, the UK also recorded an impressive rebound in sales (+27.5%) after months of decline.
The Volkswagen group recorded a 7% drop in sales in January, in line with the market.
Its runner-up Stellantis is more affected (-15.1%), with poor performance for its Peugeot, Fiat and Citroën brands, in particular.
The Renault group fell by 3.5%, with -15.7% for its main brand but good sales at Dacia.
Hyundai-Kia (+28.7%) and Toyota (+9.7%) continue to weather the crisis more calmly, gaining market share.
BMW records -9.2%, Mercedes -13.8%.
Read alsoUsed car sales at a record level in 2021
After a sharp drop in 2020 linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the automotive market was paralyzed in Europe and America in 2021 by this shortage of electronic chips, especially made in Asia, and essential for the manufacture of cars that still ship. more technology.
With chip supply stabilizing in the second half of the year, and in the absence of any new variant, ACEA expects auto sales to rebound 7.9% in 2022, while still far from their 2019 level. .
