New car sales across Europe suffered a record fall during 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than three million fewer cars were registered across Europe during 2020, a decline of 23.7 percent.
Include EFTA countries and the UK, and the scale of the fall increases to 24.3 percent – with almost 3.9 fewer cars taking to the roads.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) says it’s the biggest yearly drop in car demand since records began.
“All 27 EU markets recorded double-digit declines throughout 2020.
“Among the region’s biggest car markets, Spain posted the sharpest drop (-32.3 percent), followed closely by Italy (-27.9 percent) and France (-25.5 percent).
“Full-year losses were significant but less pronounced in Germany (-19.1 percent).”
The figures mirror the new car market in the UK, which declined 29 percent in 2020.
The worst months were March, April and May, where new car sales fell 55.1 percent, 76.3 percent and 52.3 percent respectively. This was during the peak of the ‘first wave’ of the pandemic.
Registrations slowly recovered, ending 3.3 percent down in December, but it was still an “unprecedented impact” said the ACEA.
As the UK has now left the EU, ACEA’s core figures are for the EU27.
It also offers broader figures for the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), and now the UK.
These show 11.9 million new cars were registered across Europe during 2020 – down from 15.8 million in 2019.
Many car brands suffered above-average declines. Smart registrations were down a staggering 75.8 percent, Mazda was down 41.7 percent and Opel/Vauxhall declined 40.4 percent.
Jaguar declined 39.3 percent and Ford, Britain’s best-selling new car brand, fell 31.7 percent.
The best-performing car brand in Europe during 2020 was Porsche, with registrations declining only 7.6 percent.
ALSO READ
New Nissan Qashqai to offer ‘EV-like’ e-Power engine
AA reveals new road signs for coronavirus vaccination centres
