EU passenger car market contracts 23.7% in 2020

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The EU passenger car market narrowed by 23.7% to 9.9 million units in 2020 due to the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a trade group revealed on Tuesday.

2020 posted highest yearly drop in car demand since record-keeping, with new car registrations falling by 3 million units compared to 2019, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said.

All EU markets saw double-digit declines in the year, the ACEA noted. “Among the region’s biggest car markets, Spain posted the sharpest drop [-32.3%], followed closely by Italy [-27.9%] and France [-25.5%], while full-year losses were significant but less pronounced in Germany [-19.1%].”

- December figures

Meanwhile, in December 2020, demand for new passenger cars in the block diminished by 3.3% to 1.1 million units.

The four largest EU markets, however, registered very different outcomes, with Italy and France both seeing double-digit losses, as car registrations went down 14.9% and 11.8% respectively.

By contrast, Germany recorded a solid gain (+9.9%) and Spain’s performance remained stable, as the number of registrations was more or less the same as in December 2019.