New passenger car registrations in the EU rose 16% year on year in November to 829,527 units, the fourth consecutive annual increase, according to European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) data released Dec. 15.
The November sales volume was 11% higher than the previous month but still well below pre-pandemic sales from November 2019, when 1 million units were registered, the ACEA said.
Total sales for the first 11 months of 2022 were 8.4 million units, down 6.1% year on year, the data showed.
The latest sales data indicates that the supply chain issues that have hindered European car production through 2022 are steadily easing although a deteriorating economic outlook threatens to weigh on sales during the months ahead.
Weaker car production has also weighed on steel demand, with Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessing domestic HRC prices in Northern Europe at Eur655/mt ex-works Ruhr Dec. 14, 30% lower than it was at the start of 2022.
All three top European markets — Germany, France and Italy – accounted for year-in-year increases in November.
Largest EU car market Germany saw new car registrations increase 31% year on year to 260,512 units, rising 25% on the month.
German car registrations for the January-November period totaled 2.34 million units, down 2.4% on the year.
In second-largest market France, sales rose 9.8% on the year in November, and increased 7.2% on the month to 133,960 units.
Car sales in Italy also climbed 15% on the year to 119,853 units, which was also up 3.5% from October to a five-month high.
January-November car sales in France totaled 1.37 million units, down 8.7% on the year, while sales in Italy declined 12% to 1.21 million units.
In Spain, 73,221 units were sold in November, rising 10% on the year and 11% on the month, bringing the total for the January-November period to 739,469 units, down 4.4% year on year.
— Euan Sadden
