Car registrations in EU fall further in January
Passenger car registrations in the European Union fell further in January, according to fresh industry data on Thursday, with the ongoing semiconductor shortage still negatively affecting car sales across the region.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said even though a new record for the lowest January total in terms of volume was set in 2021, registrations in the same month this year contracted by a further 6% to reach 682,596 units.
That, it said, marked a new historic low in EU car sales for the first month of the year.
There were a number of markets in central Europe that posted gains in January, however, with Slovakia growing 72.6% and Romania expanding 55.5%, although sales in Poland contracted by 10.2% in January.
In western Europe, meanwhile, almost all countries posted negative results, with double-digit losses seen in Italy with a decline of 19.7%, and France where sales fell 18.6%.
Positive movement was seen in Germany at 8.5%, however, while Spain saw a modest gain of 1%.