New car sales tumble across European Union
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Thursday 17 Dec 2020
(Sharecast News) - New car registrations tumbled across the European Union in November, industry data showed on Thursday, as fresh restrictions to contain Covid-19 dented demand.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), new car registrations fell 12% across the 27 member states in November to 897,692 units, compared to a 7.8% decline in October. Within the eurozone, sales were down 12.5%, a widening of October's 7.4% slide.
The ACEA attributed the weak data to the resurgence of Covid-19 and the subsequent introduction of fresh lockdown measures.
The biggest declines were in France and Spain, down 27.0% and 18.7% respectively, with Italy off 8.3% and Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, down 3.0%.
In the year to date, the EU passenger car market slumped 25.5% to around 9m units, more than 3m cars down on the same period a year previously.
Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Economics, said: "The rate of decline should stabilise in the next few months, but we don't expect much of an upturn.
"Major-purchase intentions surveyed by the Commission, at present and on a 12-month basis, both declined significantly in the first two months of the fourth quarter, indicating that household's demand for large purchases are waning in response to economic slowdown and new virus restrictions.
"Assuming the vaccine is rolled out quickly in the first half, a more meaningful recovery is in store. But we reckon household demand for big-ticket durable goods, which tends to involve taking on debt, will remain subdued."
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