Sales of new cars increased by 748 thousand in April compared to last year
In the first four months of the year, the growth reached 23.1% yoy
Italy performed relatively the best (up 3,289% yoy) while sales in Sweden showed the weakest change compared to the last year (up 15.6% yoy)
Sales of new passenger cars reached 1,040 thousand in April 2021 in the enlarged Europe (EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), according to ACEA. This is 256%, or 748 thousand more than in the previous year. In the first four months of 2021, some 4,121 thousand cars were sold in Europe, up 23.1% yoy.
New car registrations surged in April because of last year’s low base of comparison due to coronavirus restrictions. Despite this big percentage increase, last month’s sales volume was almost 300,000 units lower than that recorded in April 2019.
Historically, between 1990 and 2021, sales of passenger cars in Europe reached a high of 1,937 thousand in March 2017 and a low of 292 thousand in April 2020.
In April, most vehicles (230 thousand) were sold in Germany (up 90.0% yoy), followed by Italy (145 thousand, up 3,289%), the United Kingdom with 142 thousand cars (up 3,177%), 140 thousand new vehicles were registered in France (up 569%) and 78.6 thousand in Spain (up 1,788%). The five largest countries accounted for 63.2% of total new vehicles registered in April 2021.
In absolute terms, the best performance in sales of new cars has been seen in Italy (up 141 thousand cars) and the United Kingdom (up 137 thousand cars). At the other end of the scale, Iceland and Cyprus showed the biggest drop in registration of new cars in April when compared to last year (up 0.409 thousand and up 0.691 thousand cars, respectively).
In relative terms, sales in Italy (+3,289%) and United Kingdom (+3,177%) performed the best compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Sweden and Finland the worst (15.6% and 47.8% yoy), in April 2021, according to ACEA:
In the first four months of the year, some 4,121 thousand cars were sold in Europe, up 23.1% yoy. The table below shows details of the sales for each of the European country:
| Country | April 2021 | April 2020 | YOY Change % | 1-4/2021 | 1-4/2020 | YOY Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 22.3 | 11.2 | 98.7 | 85.8 | 65.9 | 30.2 |
| Belgium | 37.2 | 5.30 | 602 | 156 | 133 | 17.9 |
| Bulgaria | 2.40 | 0.824 | 191 | 7.98 | 6.77 | 18.0 |
| Croatia | 4.15 | 1.08 | 285 | 14.6 | 11.1 | 31.9 |
| Cyprus | 0.925 | 0.234 | 295 | 3.62 | 3.18 | 14.1 |
| Czech Republic | 19.0 | 10.7 | 77.7 | 68.5 | 60.9 | 12.5 |
| Denmark | 15.5 | 10.2 | 52.2 | 59.4 | 59.1 | 0.628 |
| Estonia | 2.40 | 0.824 | 191 | 8.12 | 6.47 | 25.5 |
| Finland | 8.84 | 5.98 | 47.8 | 36.8 | 34.2 | 7.50 |
| France | 140 | 21.0 | 569 | 582 | 386 | 51.0 |
| Germany | 230 | 121 | 90.0 | 886 | 822 | 7.77 |
| Greece | 10.2 | 2.43 | 319 | 33.6 | 23.8 | 41.2 |
| Hungary | 10.5 | 6.17 | 70.5 | 42.7 | 38.8 | 9.98 |
| Iceland | 0.781 | 0.372 | 110 | 2.96 | 2.85 | 3.61 |
| Ireland | 7.16 | 0.344 | 1,983 | 55.3 | 51.6 | 7.27 |
| Italy | 145 | 4.28 | 3,289 | 592 | 351 | 68.6 |
| Latvia | 1.40 | 0.683 | 104 | 4.84 | 4.55 | 6.26 |
| Lithuania | 3.61 | 1.38 | 162 | 11.2 | 12.1 | -7.26 |
| Luxembourg | 4.33 | 1.19 | 263 | 16.8 | 13.1 | 28.1 |
| Netherlands | 23.8 | 15.4 | 55.1 | 105 | 119 | -11.7 |
| Norway | 13.2 | 7.43 | 77.3 | 49.5 | 39.8 | 24.4 |
| Poland | 40.1 | 15.2 | 163 | 158 | 123 | 28.6 |
| Portugal | 14.8 | 2.75 | 439 | 45.8 | 48.0 | -4.54 |
| Romania | 6.86 | 4.32 | 58.8 | 27.6 | 32.3 | -14.5 |
| Slovakia | 6.79 | 3.42 | 98.2 | 22.2 | 22.4 | -0.898 |
| Slovenia | 4.28 | 1.85 | 132 | 20.6 | 16.2 | 27.3 |
| Spain | 78.6 | 4.16 | 1,788 | 265 | 223 | 18.8 |
| Sweden | 21.9 | 18.9 | 15.6 | 113 | 85.1 | 32.5 |
| Switzerland | 22.1 | 9.38 | 135 | 78.6 | 64.8 | 21.2 |
| United Kingdom | 142 | 4.32 | 3,177 | 567 | 488 | 16.2 |
| EU + EFTA | 1,040 | 292 | 256 | 4,121 | 3,347 | 23.1 |
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in April 2021 in Europe, some 280 thousand vehicles representing 27.0% of the European market. Sales of PSA Group amounted to 162 thousand vehicles (or 15.5% of the market) while Renault Group and Hyundai Group held 8.10% and 7.50% of the European market in April. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 65.5% of all new cars in April:
Volkswagen Group sold 280 thousand new passenger cars representing a 27.0% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 232% more vehicles and a 1.93 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Looking back three years, VW's market share was 25.1%.
The Group sold 121 thousand of Volkswagen brand cars in April, followed by 57.4 thousand of Audis and 56.8 thousand of Skodas. Porsche sold 5.89 thousand vehicles and some cars in April 2021:
PSA Group sold 162 thousand new passenger cars representing a 15.5% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 320% more vehicles and a 2.37 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, the market share three years ago stood at 16.0% and is down by 0.450 pp now.
The Group sold 70.4 thousand of Peugeots cars, followed by 45.1 thousand of Opels and 42.7 thousand of Citroens in April 2021:
BMW Group sold 76.7 thousand new passenger cars representing a 7.38% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 198% more vehicles and a 1.43 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, BMW Group's market share is now 1.51 pp higher.
The group sold 60.6 thousand of BMW brand cars, followed by 16.1 thousand of Minis in April 2021:
Hyundai Group sold 78.5 thousand new passenger cars representing a 7.55% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 317% more vehicles and a 1.11 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, Hyundai Group's market share is now 0.766 pp higher.
The group sold 42.4 thousand of Kia brand cars, followed by of s in April 2021:
Renault Group sold 83.9 thousand new passenger cars representing a 8.07% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 193% more vehicles and a 1.73 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Renault Group's market share was 10.3%.
The group sold 55.0 thousand of Renault brand cars in April, followed by 28.6 thousand of Dacias and 0.180 thousand of Ladas:
FCA Group sold 64.5 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.20% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 489% more vehicles and a 2.45 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago FCA Group's market share stood at 6.79%.
The group sold 45.3 thousand of Fiat brand cars in April, followed by 11.8 thousand of Jeeps and 1.93 thousand of Alfa-Romeos:
Toyota Group sold 64.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.23% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 482% more vehicles and a 2.42 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Toyota Group's market share three years ago, by comparison, stood at 4.83%.
The group sold 61.1 thousand of Toyota brand cars in April, with Lexus following at 3.69 thousand cars:
Jaguar Land Rover Group sold 18.3 thousand new passenger cars representing a 1.76% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 890% more vehicles and a 1.13 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Three years ago however, the market share of Jaguar Land Rover Group was 1.32%.
The group sold 13.6 thousand of Land Rovers in April, followed by 4.72 thousand of Jaguars:
Daimler Group sold 66.2 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.37% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in April 2021. This is 295% more vehicles and a 0.630 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Daimler Group's market share was 6.06%.
The group sold 61.8 thousand of Mercedes in April, followed by 4.39 thousand of Smart cars:
Based on a comparison of 64 countries, China ranked the highest with 20,178 thousand passenger cars sold in 2020 followed by Japan and the USA. Total sales of passenger cars reached 53,599 thousand in 2020 in the world, according to ACEA. This is 15.9% less than in the previous year and 3.98% less than 10 years ago. Historically, total sales of passenger cars reached an all time high of 70,695 thousand in 2017 and an all time low of 11,000 thousand in 1961. The average annual growth stands at 2.39% since 1960.
The top ranked country, China, accounted for 37.6% of all passenger cars sold in the world. The top 3 countries held a 51.1% share while the ten largest countries some 75.9% in 2020.
China was the largest car producer in 2020 with 19,994 thousand followed by Japan and Germany. Total production of passenger cars reached 55,834 thousand in 2020 in the world, according to ACEA. China accounted for 35.8% of the world's production, while the top 3 countries held a 54.6% share and the ten largest countries some 79.3% in 2020:
Based on a comparison of 29 countries, Germany ranked the highest in sales of electric cars with 395 thousand followed by France and United Kingdom in 2020. When looking at the ratio of electric to total new cars sold, Norway ranked the highest with 74.8% followed by Iceland and Sweden:
By contrast, the Czech Republic ranked the highest in the number of petrol-fuelled as a proportion of new cars sold with 64.6%, followed by Poland and Slovakia. In terms of diesel-fuelled vehicles, Estonia ranked the highest with 44.8% followed by Ireland and Luxembourg:
In 2016, Switzerland ranked the highest in 4x4 drive cars as a share of new cars sold with 42.1% followed by Norway and Sweden. Switzerland ranked the highest in the average power of new cars sold with 122 kW followed by Luxembourg and Sweden:
Based on the latest available data, Lithuania, Estonia and Romania were the countries with the oldest average age of passenger cars. The average age was an ancient 16.8 years in Lithuania, 16.7 years years for Estonia and 16.5 years years in Romania. On the other end of the scale was Austria with 8.30 years years, the United Kingdom with 8.00 years years and Luxembourg with 6.50 years years.
Based on a comparison of 27 firms among Global Car Producers, Volkswagen Group generated the highest sales in 2019 followed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Daimler Group. At the same time, Toyota Motor Corporation had the highest market value followed by Volkswagen Group and Tesla Inc.:
Volkswagen Group generated the highest earnings before interest costs, taxes and depreciation (so called EBITDA) in 2019 followed by Toyota Motor Corporation and General Motors. At the same time, Ferrari generated the highest EBITDA Margin followed by Porsche AG and BMW Group.
Ferrari produced the highest net profit per car sold in 2019 followed by Porsche AG and Toyota Motor Corporation. Ferrari made a net profit of USD 77,831 for each car sold, down 21.7% compared to the previous year.
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