ROME – After the health emergency resulting from the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic, it is the turn of the microchip crisis to bring the automotive market back to its knees. According to the data processed by the Autopromotec Observatory, in Italy since the beginning of the summer months, the ratio of the number of used cars sold to every hundred new cars has greatly increased, going from an average of 170 in the first half of the year to 244. of the average recorded from July to September. According to analysts, the cause of this increase is to be found in the semiconductor and microchip crisis. The lack of supplies of the irreplaceable microchips has penalized the production of new cars, and some car manufacturers have even had to resort to the closure of production plants (so much so that there are already several manufacturers who are organizing themselves for the production of these precious ones. components).
The effect of this crisis has caused the demand for used cars to soar, but also causing tension on the prices of second-hand vehicles. Observing the data processed by the Autopromotec Observatory in the years prior to 2021, the analysis relating to the 2016-2020 period highlights a certain stability in the relationship between new and used car sales, a balance that continued until 2019. In 2020, however , there have been substantial changes in this situation, the result of the uncertainty triggered by the health emergency with the related consequences on the economy. Earlier this year, the situation seemed to have returned to the levels of 2016-2020, but the escalation of the semiconductor crisis has again led to strong growth in second-hand car sales. The evolution of this situation and the prospects for the new and used car market will be topics to be discussed at Autopromotec, a major international exhibition dedicated to the automotive aftermarket that will take place in Bologna from 25 to 28 May next. (maurilio rigo)
.