Hyundai increased its European market share last year, helped by new models such as the fourth-generation Tucson.
European passenger car sales fell by 22 percent in December to cap off a year marked by critical shortages of semiconductors and a coronavirus resurgence, with full-year registrations for 2021 down 1.5 percent, according to industry group ACEA.
Groups that could navigate the shortage best made the biggest gains, namely Hyundai and Toyota. But others, such as Renault, Daimler and Volkswagen Group, saw steep drops in both sales and market share.
The VW marque remained the No. 1 brand in Europe, but its 2021 sales were down 6.2 percent to 1.27 million. Peugeot ranked second, down 2.3 percent at 724,383. That was just about 12,000 more than third-place Toyota, which was sixth in 2020. See chart, below.
There were 11.77 million passenger cars registered in 2021 in the EU, the UK and the EFTA markets, ACEA said in a statement on Tuesday. There were 950,218 cars registered in December.
It was a year of extreme volatility, as automakers prioritized production of the most-profitable models and electrified vehicles to manage the chip shortage. Hopes that the market would recover sharply from 2020’s coronavirus disruptions failed to materialize, and did not come close to 2019 levels.
The market was down 25 percent compared with 2019, when there were 15.80 million passenger cars sold. Sales in 2020 were down by 24.3 percent over 2019.
A number of groups did better than the market, led by Hyundai Group, which was Europe’s biggest mover, with 1.02 million sales, a 21 percent increase. It was the fourth-largest group, just 75,000 units behind Renault. In 2010 Hyundai trailed Renault by 400,000 units.
The maker of Hyundai and Kia vehicles saw its market share increase to 8.7 percent last year from 7 percent in 2020, as it was able to avoid crippling plant shutdowns tied to the chip shortage, and introduced popular models such as the new Hyundai Tucson SUV.
Toyota Group, which includes Lexus, was up 9.6 percent to 760,178, and its market share rose to 6.5 percent from 5.8 percent in 2020. It, too, dodged the worst of the chip shortage, and has added new models including the small Yaris Cross SUV. Toyota has passed Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler to become the sixth-largest group.
The new Yaris Cross helped to boost Toyota's sales and market share.
BMW Group sales were up 1.3 percent to 858,762. BMW brand (plus 1.2 percent) and Mini (plus 1.7 percent) both saw positive growth. Market share remained largely flat at 7.3 percent, compared with 7.1 percent in 2020.
Newly formed Stellantis, which came into existence last Jan. 16 after the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, was just below the market level, with 2.38 million sales for a 1.8 percent (pro rata) decline. Market share was 20.2 percent market share, the same as in 2020.
VW Group remained Europe’s largest automaker by group, with 2.94 million sales, but sales fell by 3.7 percent, for a 25 percent market share, which was 0.6 percentage points below 2020’s figure.
Renault Group, Europe’s third-largest, had 1.09 million sales, sharply lagging the market with a 10.9 percent decline. Market share was 9.3 percent, a full percentage point less than in 2020.
Jaguar Land Rover sales were 149,784, down 6 percent. Land Rover sales were flat, losing 0.9 percent, but Jaguar slumped by 19 percent as a lack of new models hit demand.
Daimler also had a lackluster year, with sales of 678,574, an 11 percent decrease. Market share fell to 5.8 percent from 6.4. Mercedes also lost the global premium sales crown to BMW.
Other automakers had sharply divergent results. Ford, which is exiting most passenger car segments in Europe, had 523,907 sales for a 19 percent decrease, losing a full point of market share to 4.4 percent.
Volvo was up 1.1 percent to 289,301 sales, with market share flat at 2.5 percent. Nissan continued its slide, down by 14 percent on 249,232 sales. Mazda, which has partnered with Toyota on emissions, gained 4 percent to finish with 155,434 sales.
Only ACEA members’ sales were tallied in the manufacturer category, which excluded Tesla and Suzuki, although their sales counted in total registration figures.
