the car is still broken in 2022

Third difficult year for the European market, whose sales contracted by 4.6% in 2022. According to the latest statistics published by ACEA, the volume of registrations in Europe reached the level of 9.25 million new vehicles, meaning , the same amount as in 1993. Including the Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic and English markets, registrations represent 11.28 million units (down 4.1% compared to 2021).

After a year 2020 marked by factory closures and health restrictions, a year 2021 affected by shortages of electronic chips, essential for the assembly of vehicles, and the logistical problems that poured hope of a sustained recovery, the automotive market is struggling to recover. its colors.

In 2022, among the main markets, only Germany remained stable (+1.1%), with a strong December month. France fell throughout the year by 7.8%, Italy by 9.7%, Spain by 5.4%, Poland by 6%, the Netherlands by 3.2% and Belgium by 4.4%, as shown in the table below.

Source: ACEA

Volkswagen, first European manufacturer

The war in Ukraine and the price inflation that followed it may have also pushed buyers to postpone their purchase, but this effect is difficult to assess and most manufacturers show a full order book.

The European market leader, the Volkswagen group, is doing well with a good end of the year and 2.3 million vehicles were sold in 2022 (-5.2%), for a stable market share of 25.1%.

The group favored its premium brands Audi and Porsche, which posted good sales, at the expense of its generalist brands such as Skoda and Seat. The year-end boom was also driven by sales of electric vehicles such as the ID.3 compact and the ID.4 SUV. So Volkswagen is hot on Tesla’s heels in electric sales on the continent.

After fighting hard in 2021, the No. 2 Stellantis shows a sharper decline (-14.1%), for market share down to 19.7%. However, the group was on the first market podium of the best-selling vehicles with the Peugeot 208. Jeep, Citroën and Fiat were among the brands that experienced the strongest slowdown.

The Renault group held up well (-4.3%) thanks to the performance of its economy brand, Dacia, and maintained a market share of 10.6%.

The Korean group Hyundai-Kia, more protected from shortages, posted a good year (+2.6%) with a market share of up to 9.2%. Japanese Toyota jumped for the second consecutive year (+7.7%, 6.3% market share) with its hybrid models such as the Yaris and Corolla.

In the premium segment, BMW-Mini fell 5.1%, while Mercedes remained stable. Volkswagen and BMW also expect a recovery in 2023, thanks to a “particularly strong” order book for electric vehicles.

Source: ACEA