LMC Automotive European Passenger Car Sales Update (December 2021)

2022/01/11

Summary

  • The West European selling rate increased to 11.3 mn units/year in December, from 10.3 mn units/year in November. Lockdowns and the global supply crisis have dealt serious blows to the industry during 2021, with annual sales finishing at just 10.6 mn units.
  • In Germany, the selling rate improved to 3.1 mn units/year in December, up from 2.4 mn units/year the previous month. For the UK, the selling rate fell to 1.6 mn units/year, in line with the annual result. Spain’s selling rate jumped to 1.1 mn units/year, as consumers sought to take advantage of the last month before a tax increase. The selling rate rose modestly in both Italy and France, to 1.4 mn units/year and 1.7 mn units/year, respectively.
  • In another seriously challenging year for the automotive industry, marred with coronavirusrelated restrictions and then the global supply crisis stemming from the semiconductor shortage, West European passenger car sales totaled just 10.6 mn units – marking a result 2% below the pandemic‐struck 2020 figure. Looking ahead, although headwinds to sales include renewed concerns over coronavirus (including the Omicron variant), with a generally solid economic backdrop, there is a clear mismatch between market activity and underlying demand. Our baseline forecast assumes that the industry supply issues, dominated by the semiconductor shortages, will continue to disrupt the link between demand indictors and vehicle sales, though that impact will gradually ease as we move through 2022.

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