PARIS: According to a trade association, shortages of components last year caused new car registrations in European auto sales to fall to their lowest level since 1993.
The total number of EU registrations decreased 4.6 percent to 9.3 million, a level last seen thirty years ago, despite an increase in sales since August, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Since the factory and showroom closures caused by the Covid-19 outbreak in 2021 and the ensuing supply difficulties that continued even as the pandemic subsided, it has been a challenging three years for the business.
Germany was the only significant European market to experience increase last year, at 1.1 percent, while registrations in Italy, France, and Spain all witnessed declines of at least 9.7 percent.
However, the auto organisation, known by its French name ACEA, reported that sales had increased in the majority of countries over the closing quarters of the year, with December registrations up overall by 12.8% from the previous year.
With 2.3 million vehicles sold for the year, a 5.2 percent decrease, and a steady market share of 25.1%, Volkswagen continued to dominate the European market.
The Stellaris group came in second with 1.8 million vehicles. This represents a 14.1% decrease. Renault saw a 4.3 percent decline to 985,000 sales.
even though it is predicted that supply chain restrictions will ease, last week the German auto industry organization expressed their prediction. The organization said that it only expects a moderate recovery for the domestic automotive market this year.