Missing parts continue to limit production and ability to deliver. In March, new registrations of passenger cars in the EU fell by 20.5 percent.
The global shortage of semiconductors and the war of aggression in Ukraine initiated by Russia continue to leave their mark on the auto industry. Production is sluggish and demand for new cars can hardly be met. The number of new passenger car registrations in Europe is correspondingly weak.
Down in March and in the quarter
According to the European automobile manufacturers' association ACEA, only 844,187 new cars were put on the market in the EU in March 2022. That was a whopping 20.5 percent less than a year ago. The ACEA balance sheet for the first quarter is also sobering. After three months, only 2,245,976 new cars have been put on the streets. This means that the first quarter of 2022 is 12.3 percent below the previous year.
A clear downward trend also characterizes all European volume markets. Germany reported 241,330 new passenger car registrations in March and a drop of 17.5 percent. The quarterly result is 4.6 percent below the previous year. Down 19.5 percent and only 147,078 new cars are on the books for the French market (-17.3% in the quarter). The Italian market even fell by 29.7 percent to just 119,497 units (-24.4 percent in the quarter). Spain was even worse off with 59,920 new registrations and a drop of 30.2 percent (-11.6 percent in the quarter). Ex-EU member Great Britain is the largest market with 243,479 new passenger car registrations in March, but is 14.3 percent below the previous year. In the quarterly statement, however, the British are almost at the same level as the previous year with 417,560 (-1.9%) new cars.,
Toyota is already in second place
The Volkswagen Group remains the European market leader even in the crisis with a market share of 24.2 Percent. The Stellantis brand association has a share of 20 percent. Even if VW's market share in Europe continues to shrink, the VW brand remains the market leader with 10.1 percent. Against the trend, Toyota can continue to grow. The Japanese are already in second place with a market share of 6.1 percent in March, ahead of Peugeot, which can claim 5.9 percent. Mercedes followed on the other places tied with Renault (both 5.7%), Audi (5.6%), BMW (5.5%), Kia (4.7%), Ford (4.5%), Skoda (4.4%), Dacia tied with Hyundai (both 4.3%), Citroën (4.1%), Fiat (3.9%) and Opel with a market share of 3.7 percent. Seat only achieves a market share of 3.3 percent, Volvo is at 2.2 percent.,
Conclusion
Ukraine war, lack of semiconductors and the resulting production difficulties mean that the car manufacturers are having delivery problems and waiting times for customers are increasing. As a result, there are simply fewer new cars on the streets and the European automobile markets have to record significant declines in the first quarter of this year. It remains to be seen when supply will be able to meet demand again.
