New passenger car registrations in the European Union fell 6% year on year to 682,596 units in January, the lowest January on record and the seventh consecutive month to see year-on-year falls, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said Feb. 17.
The volume was also 14.2% lower month on month, the data showed.
The falls were attributed to ongoing semiconductor shortages still negatively affecting car sales across the region, ACEA said.
Germany, the largest EU car market, saw new car registrations rise 8.5% year on year to 184,112 units in January, which was 19.1% lower than the previous month.
However, this was an outlier in Western Europe, with sales in the second largest market France falling 18.6% on the year and 34.9% on the month to 102,899 units, a five-month low.
Similarly, car sales in Italy dropped 19.5% on the year to 107,814 units, but climbed 24.4% month on month.
In Spain, 42,377 units were sold in January, up 1% on the year, but down 50.8% from December.
Some markets in Central Europe saw noticeable gains in January though, with ACEA saying that sales in Slovakia rose 72.6% year on year and 4.2% on the month to 5,739 units and sales in Romania climbed 55.5% on the year to 9,337 units, although sales dropped 21.3% from December.
Sales in Poland dropped 10.2% on the year and 19.9% on the month to 28,975 units in January.
— Jacqueline Holman
