Despite a slight improvement in sales since August, the market fell by 4.6% over the year, with 9.3 million vehicles sold.
Paralyzed by logistical problems, the European new car market returned in 2022 to its 1993 level, the manufacturers’ association (ACEA) said on Wednesday January 18.
4.6% decline compared to 2021
Despite a slight improvement in sales since August, the market fell by 4.6% over the year, with 9.3 million vehicles sold.
This is almost as little as in 1993, a black year for the industry with its 9.2 million vehicles sold.
2022 is thus a complicated third year for the industry, after a year 2020 marked by factory closures and health restrictions, and a year 2021 marked by shortages of electronic chips, essential for the assembly of cars, and the logistical problems, which have dampened hopes of a lasting recovery.
In 2022, among the major markets, only Germany remained stable (+1.1%), with a month of December with a bang.
France, Italy and Spain down sharply
France declined over the year by 7.8%, Italy by 9.7%, Spain by 5.4%, Poland by 6%, the Netherlands by 3.2%, and Belgium by 4.4%.
The favorable end of the year, with five consecutive months of growth and a month of December at +12.8%, did not catch up with a start to the year that was greatly slowed down by chip shortages, underlines the ACEA in a press release .
The European market leader, the Volkswagen group, is doing well with a good end to the year and 2.3 million vehicles sold in 2022, for a stable market share of 25.1%.
The group has favored its premium brands Audi and Porsche, which are posting good sales, to the detriment of its generalist brands such as Skoda and Seat.
Stellantis in free fall, Renault resists a little better
After having resisted well in 2021, the No. 2 Stellantis shows a sharper decline (-14.1%), for a market share down to 19.7%. Jeep, Citroën and Fiat are among the brands that have experienced the strongest slowdown.
The Renault group is holding up well (-4.3%) thanks to the performance of its low-cost brand Dacia, and maintains a market share of 10.6%.
The Korean group Hyundai-Kia, better protected from shortages, posted a good year (+2.6%) with a market share up to 9.2%.
Toyota jumped for the second consecutive year (+7.7%, 6.3% market share) with its hybrid cars.
BMW-Mini fell 5.1%, while Mercedes remained stable.
