EU passenger car sales down more than 20% in March on supply chain disruptions, Acea says

Supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have led to a significant 20.55% decline in new car sales in Europe, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (Acea) said on Thursday March 20. A total of with 844,187 units were sold in March, with the largest markets posting double-digit declines.

First-quarter 2022 sales fell by 12.3% year on year to 2,245,976 units, compared with 2,560,271 in the same period in 2021.

European buyers held back from making any new deals for cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) during the last week of March, early April, mainly due to high prices amid sufficient stocks.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe – a key material for carmaking – averaged €1,419 per tonne in March, compared to €913 a year ago.

The reduction of EU car sales have started in July 2021.  

On average, about 900kg of steel is used in the manufacture of every car, according to the World Steel Association.
Published by: Elina Virchenko