Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
    • Meet the 2021 winners
    • Browse photos from the 2021 awards ceremony
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Battery testing center for large battery packs and more
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. By the numbers
September 16, 2021 03:02 AM

Europe's car sales go from uninspiring to ugly amid chip crunch

Sales are now up just 13 percent for the year, less than half the percentage increase posted at the year's halfway point

Bloomberg
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Cars parked at a depot before being transported to dealers
    Bloomberg

    Auto sales are deteriorating in Europe, with months of meek recovery giving way to deliveries that no longer even measure up to last year's pandemic-depressed results.

    New-car registrations fell 18 percent in August and 24 percent in July from year-ago levels, industry association ACEA said Thursday.

    CLICK BELOW for ANE analysis of ACEA data
    ACEA registrations, August and 8 months >

    Sales are now up just 13 percent for the year, less than half the percentage increase posted at the year's halfway point.

    Auto production is being suppressed by the global semiconductor shortage that the chief executives of Volkswagen Group, Daimler and BMW Group have warned will linger well into next year.

    And if scarce inventory weren't enough to drive up prices, automakers also are prioritizing their most lucrative models as the number of vehicles they can produce is constrained.

    "While the pandemic is not over in the region, the single biggest challenge facing the industry is now the auto chip shortage," LMC Automotive analysts wrote in a report last week. "Any meaningful recovery in demand, following the improved economic backdrop in the region, is now being held back."

    The July and August figures are the worst for the two months since the tail end of the Eurozone economic crisis in 2013.

    The declines were sweeping, with Europe's biggest car markets -- Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain -- all seeing double-digit drops each month.

    So far, automakers have been holding up just fine.

    First-half earnings, margins and cash flows were the highest in the industry's history, Bernstein analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said in a report Wednesday.

    "Isn't autos a funny industry," he wrote. "The fewer cars OEMs sell, the more money they make."

    EUROPE BY THE NUMBERS NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our monthly newsletter delivering data and commentary on European sales, including sales by model, top models overall, and top models in major markets.

    Sales tallies

    Europe's biggest economies are having a harder time. Supply crunches are hitting Germany beyond just the automotive sector and threatening to derail its recovery.

    Of Europe's five big markets, Spain performed worst in August with sales plunging 29 percent, followed by Italy with a 27 percent drop. Uncertainty related to the ongoing pandemic likely added to problems caused by the chip shortage, Joe Spak, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a report earlier this month.

    Among the largest automakers, European sales fell 14 percent for VW Group, 29 percent for Stellantis and 23 percent for Renault last month. Registrations dropped 38 percent for Daimler and 18 percent for BMW Group.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Toyota cuts June output plan again as China lockdowns bite
    Recommended for You
    Japan Prius production
    Toyota cuts June output plan again as China lockdowns bite
    Tesla Model Ys in Gruenheide
    Tesla submits application to expand German plant, report says
    Ashwani Gupta Nissan Sunderland July 2021
    UK automaking at risk as Jaguar Land Rover looks elsewhere for batteries
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
        • Meet the 2021 winners
      • ANE Eurostars
        • Browse photos from the 2021 awards ceremony
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Battery testing center for large battery packs and more
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us