The decline of the car market in Europe does not stop. In May, according to data published by ACEA – the association of European car manufacturers – in the 30 national markets of the Old Continent (EU + Efta + UK) 948,149 cars were registered in May, with a decrease of 12 , 5% on May 2021 and 34.3% on May 2019. This is the tenth month in a row with a minus sign, with all the main markets in negative territory: -15.1% for Italy, followed by from Spain (-10.9%), Germany (-10.2%) and France (-10.1%).
If we look at the first five months of the year, the situation remains critical, with 4 million and 531,598 cars registered, down by 12.9% on the same period of 2021 and by 34.7% on the corresponding period of 2019. that in the whole area they are insufficient to guarantee the normal replacement of vehicles at the end of their life and this with serious damage to the environment and to traffic safety, as underlined by Gian Primo Quagliano of the Promotor Study Center. “It would be very appropriate for the Brussels authorities to adopt or suggest measures to member states to revive the collapsing car market today,” he adds.
Stellantis -14.6%, down but less than Volkswagen
Volkswagen and Stellantis, the top two manufacturers in Europe, lost 21.5 and 14.6% respectively in the month. Among the brands, only Porsche for the Germans and DS for the Italian-French are exceptions. Hyundai, on the other hand, scores a month with growing registrations, which bring the result from the beginning of the year to + 17%, with a market share of 7.5, close to Renault’s French (8.3%). Toyota holds the volumes compared to last year while BMW and Mercedes have lost just over 12% of registrations since the beginning of the year
Shares for electric and plug-ins are on the rise
Even in a very difficult market context, where the uncertainties related to the war and the problems deriving from the shortage of semiconductors weigh, electric and plug-in cars consolidate their share reaching 10% and 8% respectively in the first quarter of the year. The percentages of full electric that are growing steadily in all the main markets and in emerging ones such as Romania, with the exception of Italy which instead recorded a decrease compared to the year before by almost 15% – How much to plug-ins, showed a slowdown in the quarter in France and Germany. Signs of uncertainty, therefore, also linked to the doubts of consumers regarding the scarce capillarity of recharging systems.