Institutional Sign In

Go

Sales of New Cars in Europe fell 17.5% in November 2021

Jiří Staník
January 12, 2022

Sales of new cars decreased by 183 thousand in November compared to last year

In the first eleven months of the year, the growth reached 0.75% yoy

Iceland performed relatively the best (up 73.8% yoy) while sales in Lithuania showed the weakest change compared to the last year (down 59.1% yoy)

Sales of new passenger cars reached 864 thousand in November 2021 in the enlarged Europe (EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), according to ACEA. This is 17.5%, or 183 thousand less than in the previous year. In the first eleven months of 2021, some 10,826 thousand cars were sold in Europe, up 0.750% yoy.

European car registrations fell for the fifth consecutive month this year. In volumes, November marked the weakest result on record since 1993. The impact of the microchip shortage on vehicle output dragged the EU’s year-to-date sales performance into negative territory, and this despite 2020’s record low base for comparison.

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.

Sales by Country

In November, most vehicles (198 thousand) were sold in Germany (down 31.7% yoy), followed by France (122 thousand, down 3.22%), the United Kingdom with 116 thousand cars (up 1.69%), 104 thousand new vehicles were registered in Italy (down 24.5%) and 66.4 thousand in Spain (down 12.3%). The five largest countries accounted for 62.5% of total new vehicles registered in November 2021.

In absolute terms, the best performance in sales of new cars has been seen in Norway (up 2.74 thousand cars) and the United Kingdom (up 1.93 thousand cars). At the other end of the scale, Germany and Italy showed the weakest change in registration of new cars in November when compared to last year (down 91.9 thousand and down 33.9 thousand cars, respectively).

In relative terms, sales in Iceland (+73.8%) and Bulgaria (+24.0%) performed the best compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Lithuania and Germany the worst (-59.1% and -31.7% yoy), in November 2021, according to ACEA:

In the first eleven months of the year, some 10,826 thousand cars were sold in Europe, up 0.750% yoy. The table below shows details of the sales for each of the European country:

Sales of new passenger cars in Europe (thousands of vehicles)

Country November 2021 November 2020 YOY Change % 1-11/2021 1-11/2020 YOY Change %
Austria 17.5 20.1 -12.6 222 225 -1.25
Belgium 24.1 29.1 -17.1 363 401 -9.63
Bulgaria 1.92 1.54 24.0 22.8 20.7 10.1
Croatia 2.52 2.65 -4.69 42.5 34.0 24.9
Cyprus 0.727 1.02 -28.8 10.1 9.40 7.24
Czech Republic 16.2 17.5 -7.49 191 183 4.40
Denmark 15.0 18.2 -17.7 168 175 -4.45
Estonia 1.44 1.50 -4.19 21.3 17.3 23.3
Finland 6.68 7.37 -9.47 91.9 88.3 4.15
France 122 126 -3.22 1,501 1,464 2.53
Germany 198 290 -31.7 2,395 2,606 -8.13
Greece 7.17 7.64 -6.19 95.3 74.5 28.0
Hungary 9.50 13.3 -28.4 113 115 -1.88
Iceland 0.968 0.557 73.8 11.6 8.57 35.5
Ireland 1.12 0.913 22.9 105 89.3 17.3
Italy 104 138 -24.5 1,370 1,260 8.70
Latvia 0.853 1.23 -30.9 13.3 12.8 4.62
Lithuania 1.76 4.31 -59.1 29.6 36.0 -17.7
Luxembourg 3.18 3.81 -16.6 41.1 41.8 -1.66
Netherlands 27.3 33.5 -18.4 289 315 -8.30
Norway 15.3 12.5 21.9 156 121 28.9
Poland 32.0 41.7 -23.3 411 377 9.19
Portugal 10.9 11.8 -7.59 134 131 2.18
Romania 11.5 13.3 -13.4 109 110 -0.930
Slovakia 5.70 6.93 -17.7 70.2 69.2 1.39
Slovenia 4.13 3.57 15.7 51.4 51.2 0.553
Spain 66.4 75.7 -12.3 773 745 3.76
Sweden 21.1 26.6 -20.8 273 257 6.23
Switzerland 18.8 22.8 -17.6 214 207 3.17
United Kingdom 116 114 1.69 1,539 1,498 2.68
EU + EFTA 864 1,047 -17.5 10,826 10,746 0.750
Source: ACEA, Helgi Library

Sales by Manufacturers

Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in November 2021 in Europe, some 186 thousand vehicles representing 21.5% of the European market. Sales of PSA Group amounted to 124 thousand vehicles (or 14.4% of the market) while Renault Group and Hyundai Group held 10.7% and 9.90% of the European market in November. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 64.3% of all new cars in November:

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Group sold 186 thousand new passenger cars representing a 21.5% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 31.0% fewer vehicles and a 4.19 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Looking back three years, VW's market share was 23.5%.

The Group sold 77.7 thousand of Volkswagen brand cars in November, followed by 39.6 thousand of Skodas and 37.7 thousand of Audis. Seat sold 22.8 thousand vehicles and Porsche some 7.59 thousand cars in November 2021:

PSA Group

PSA Group sold 124 thousand new passenger cars representing a 14.4% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 18.3% fewer vehicles and a 0.134 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, the market share three years ago stood at 16.2% and is down by 1.85 pp now.

The Group sold 52.7 thousand of Peugeots cars, followed by 34.7 thousand of Opels and 33.6 thousand of Citroens in November 2021:

BMW Group

BMW Group sold 67.1 thousand new passenger cars representing a 7.77% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 15.2% fewer vehicles and a 0.208 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, BMW Group's market share is now 0.338 pp higher.

The group sold 51.6 thousand of BMW brand cars, followed by 15.5 thousand of Minis in November 2021:

Hyundai Group

Hyundai Group sold 85.9 thousand new passenger cars representing a 9.94% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 30.3% more vehicles and a 3.64 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, Hyundai Group's market share is now 3.38 pp higher.

The group sold 40.1 thousand of Kia brand cars, followed by of s in November 2021:

Renault Group

Renault Group sold 92.1 thousand new passenger cars representing a 10.7% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 11.8% fewer vehicles and a 0.686 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Renault Group's market share was 9.76%.

The group sold 54.0 thousand of Renault brand cars in November, followed by 37.7 thousand of Dacias and 0.171 thousand of Ladas:

FCA Group

FCA Group sold 47.4 thousand new passenger cars representing a 5.48% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 27.2% fewer vehicles and a 0.734 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago FCA Group's market share stood at 5.85%.

The group sold 32.8 thousand of Fiat brand cars in November, followed by 8.68 thousand of Jeeps and 2.35 thousand of Alfa-Romeos:

Toyota Group

Toyota Group sold 54.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.34% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 9.57% fewer vehicles and a 0.556 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Toyota Group's market share three years ago, by comparison, stood at 4.95%.

The group sold 52.0 thousand of Toyota brand cars in November, with Lexus following at 2.84 thousand cars:

Jaguar Land Rover Group

Jaguar Land Rover Group sold 8.42 thousand new passenger cars representing a 0.974% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 36.2% fewer vehicles and a 0.285 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Three years ago however, the market share of Jaguar Land Rover Group was 1.58%.

The group sold 6.01 thousand of Land Rovers in November, followed by 2.41 thousand of Jaguars:

Daimler Group

Daimler Group sold 56.5 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.54% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in November 2021. This is 23.9% fewer vehicles and a 0.554 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Daimler Group's market share was 7.23%.

The group sold 52.5 thousand of Mercedes in November, followed by 3.94 thousand of Smart cars:

Overview of the Automotive Market

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.

Overview of Car Manufacturers

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.

Jiří Staník
Jiří Staník
CEO & Founder
He spent nearly two decades analysing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, primarily in the area of financial services. Jiri built and headed Equity Research at Wood & Company, a Central European brokerage firm, and got several awards (such as The Best Equity Research or The Best Analyst by Euromoney).