New passenger car registrations in Europe continued to fall in February, as manufacturers face supply chain disruptions, according to data released by European automobile manufacturers’ association ACEA.
After having registered a new historic low in January, new car registration dropped by 6.7% in February year on year to 719,465 units sold across the EU, marking the weakest result in terms of volumes for the month of February since records began.
The four key markets in the region posted mixed results. Italy and France recorded double-digit losses (down 23% and 13% respectively), while Spain and Germany saw growth (rising 6.6% and 3.2% respectively).
In January and February, total registrations of new cars in the EU declined by 6.4% compared with the same period last year. Again, looking at the four largest markets, Italy saw the largest drop (down 21%), followed by France (down 16%). On the other hand, markets in both Germany (up 5.6%) and Spain (up 4.2%) continued to expand.
The situation in in Ukraine is leading to production disruption and higher cost inflation, according to automakers and industry analysts. German car maker BMW said March 16 that it expects the supply chain issues — in particular the shortage of semiconductor supply — not to ease before the second half of 2022.
— Annalisa Villa
