ACEA calculates huge Covid-19-related carmaking decline in Europe

European carmakers association Acea says motor vehicle production losses in mainland Europe and the UK on account of the Covid-19 pandemic amounted to some 2.4 million units in March-May. This represents 13% of total 2019 output.

The biggest loss in terms of units was registered in Germany, with over 600,000 vehicles not produced in March-May. The longest stoppages were seen in Spain, Italy and the UK, where plants stopped production for an average of 41 days during the March-May lockdown period.

Sweden, on the other hand, saw production stopped for only 15 days during the same period, Kallanish notes.

“Although the exact ramifications of Covid-19 for full-year 2020 results are still unknown, these figures show the impact of the coronavirus on auto production and employment at the peak of the crisis,” the association notes.

“We are unfortunately now facing very strong headwinds in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, which has hit our sector with an unprecedented force,” says Acea director general Eric-Mark Huitema. “Unless EU policymakers and national governments urgently step up their political and economic support, for instance with green fleet renewal schemes, last year’s car sales total (15.3 million) will be slashed by around 25% in 2020, putting jobs, production and future investments under serious threat.”