Sales of new cars decreased by 264 thousand in December compared to last year
This year, the decline reached 1.54% yoy
Iceland performed relatively the best (up 53.9% yoy) while sales in Ireland showed the weakest change compared to the last year (down 82.4% yoy)
Sales of new passenger cars reached 950 thousand in December 2021 in the enlarged Europe (EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), according to ACEA. This is 21.8%, or 264 thousand less than in the previous year. This year, some 11,776 thousand cars were sold in Europe, down 1.54% yoy.
December’s fall in the car registrations marked the sixth consecutive month of decline. Overall in 2021, sales of new cars in the EU fell by 2.4% to 9.7 mil units and were still 3.3 mil units below pre-crisis sales in 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 December, most vehicles (228 thousand) were sold in Germany (down 26.9% yoy), followed by France (158 thousand, down 15.1%), the United Kingdom with 109 thousand cars (down 18.2%), 86.7 thousand new vehicles were registered in Italy (down 27.4%) and 86.1 thousand in Spain (down 18.7%). The five largest countries accounted for 61.1% of total new vehicles registered in December 2021.
In absolute terms, the best performance in sales of new cars has been seen in Iceland (up 0.433 thousand cars) and Croatia (up 0.395 thousand cars). At the other end of the scale, Germany and Italy showed the weakest change in registration of new cars in December when compared to last year (down 83.8 thousand and down 32.8 thousand cars, respectively).
In relative terms, sales in Iceland (+53.9%) and Croatia (+19.3%) performed the best compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Ireland and Lithuania the worst (-82.4% and -58.0% yoy), in December 2021, according to ACEA:
This year, some 11,776 thousand cars were sold in Europe, down 1.54% yoy. The table below shows details of the sales for each of the European country:
| Country | December 2021 | December 2020 | YOY Change % | 1-12/2021 | 1-12/2020 | YOY Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 17.6 | 23.8 | -25.8 | 240 | 249 | -3.59 |
| Belgium | 20.4 | 30.1 | -32.3 | 383 | 431 | -11.2 |
| Bulgaria | 1.78 | 1.71 | 4.28 | 24.5 | 22.4 | 9.61 |
| Croatia | 2.45 | 2.05 | 19.3 | 44.9 | 36.0 | 24.6 |
| Cyprus | 0.494 | 0.659 | -25.0 | 10.6 | 10.1 | 5.13 |
| Czech Republic | 16.2 | 20.3 | -20.3 | 207 | 203 | 1.92 |
| Denmark | 17.8 | 22.7 | -21.9 | 185 | 198 | -6.45 |
| Estonia | 1.02 | 1.47 | -30.2 | 22.3 | 18.8 | 19.1 |
| Finland | 6.53 | 8.13 | -19.7 | 98.5 | 96.4 | 2.13 |
| France | 158 | 186 | -15.1 | 1,659 | 1,650 | 0.538 |
| Germany | 228 | 311 | -26.9 | 2,622 | 2,918 | -10.1 |
| Greece | 5.66 | 6.44 | -12.2 | 101 | 80.9 | 24.8 |
| Hungary | 8.74 | 12.7 | -31.2 | 122 | 128 | -4.79 |
| Iceland | 1.24 | 0.804 | 53.9 | 12.8 | 9.37 | 37.1 |
| Ireland | 0.106 | 0.601 | -82.4 | 105 | 89.9 | 16.6 |
| Italy | 86.7 | 119 | -27.4 | 1,456 | 1,380 | 5.57 |
| Latvia | 1.00 | 1.11 | -9.82 | 14.3 | 13.9 | 3.46 |
| Lithuania | 1.78 | 4.25 | -58.0 | 31.4 | 40.2 | -22.0 |
| Luxembourg | 3.23 | 3.36 | -3.67 | 44.4 | 45.2 | -1.81 |
| Netherlands | 35.7 | 42.8 | -16.6 | 325 | 358 | -9.30 |
| Norway | 20.6 | 20.6 | -0.034 | 176 | 141 | 24.7 |
| Poland | 36.2 | 51.5 | -29.8 | 448 | 428 | 4.50 |
| Portugal | 12.6 | 14.3 | -11.5 | 147 | 145 | 0.839 |
| Romania | 11.9 | 16.0 | -25.8 | 121 | 126 | -4.07 |
| Slovakia | 5.51 | 7.08 | -22.2 | 75.7 | 76.3 | -0.801 |
| Slovenia | 2.54 | 2.35 | 8.30 | 54.0 | 53.5 | 0.893 |
| Spain | 86.1 | 106 | -18.7 | 859 | 851 | 0.973 |
| Sweden | 27.6 | 34.7 | -20.4 | 301 | 292 | 3.08 |
| Switzerland | 24.5 | 29.5 | -16.7 | 238 | 237 | 0.698 |
| United Kingdom | 109 | 133 | -18.2 | 1,647 | 1,631 | 0.988 |
| EU + EFTA | 950 | 1,215 | -21.8 | 11,776 | 11,960 | -1.54 |
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in December 2021 in Europe, some 223 thousand vehicles representing 23.5% of the European market. Sales of PSA Group amounted to 132 thousand vehicles (or 13.9% of the market) while Renault Group and Hyundai Group held 11.8% and 7.90% of the European market in December. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 64.3% of all new cars in December:
Volkswagen Group sold 223 thousand new passenger cars representing a 23.5% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 29.5% fewer vehicles and a 2.56 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Looking back three years, VW's market share was 22.6%.
The Group sold 95.2 thousand of Volkswagen brand cars in December, followed by 45.8 thousand of Skodas and 45.5 thousand of Audis. Seat sold 25.0 thousand vehicles and Porsche some 11.3 thousand cars in December 2021:
PSA Group sold 132 thousand new passenger cars representing a 13.9% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 16.8% fewer vehicles and a 0.827 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, the market share three years ago stood at 15.5% and is down by 1.59 pp now.
The Group sold 60.4 thousand of Peugeots cars, followed by 35.7 thousand of Opels and 31.2 thousand of Citroens in December 2021:
BMW Group sold 68.6 thousand new passenger cars representing a 7.22% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 22.2% fewer vehicles and a 0.037 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, BMW Group's market share is now 0.864 pp lower.
The group sold 49.3 thousand of BMW brand cars, followed by 19.3 thousand of Minis in December 2021:
Hyundai Group sold 74.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 7.88% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 0.609% more vehicles and a 1.75 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, Hyundai Group's market share is now 1.84 pp higher.
The group sold 32.1 thousand of Kia brand cars, followed by of s in December 2021:
Renault Group sold 112 thousand new passenger cars representing a 11.8% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 10.8% fewer vehicles and a 1.45 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Renault Group's market share was 11.4%.
The group sold 67.4 thousand of Renault brand cars in December, followed by 44.2 thousand of Dacias and 0.193 thousand of Ladas:
FCA Group sold 45.7 thousand new passenger cars representing a 4.80% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 38.9% fewer vehicles and a 1.35 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 30.6 thousand of Fiat brand cars in December, followed by 9.56 thousand of Jeeps and 2.71 thousand of Alfa-Romeos:
Toyota Group sold 56.1 thousand new passenger cars representing a 5.90% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 17.3% fewer vehicles and a 0.318 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Toyota Group's market share three years ago, by comparison, stood at 4.37%.
The group sold 53.0 thousand of Toyota brand cars in December, with Lexus following at 3.10 thousand cars:
Jaguar Land Rover Group sold 9.51 thousand new passenger cars representing a 1.00% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 45.0% fewer vehicles and a 0.424 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Three years ago however, the market share of Jaguar Land Rover Group was 1.57%.
The group sold 6.91 thousand of Land Rovers in December, followed by 2.61 thousand of Jaguars:
Daimler Group sold 63.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.72% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in December 2021. This is 14.9% fewer vehicles and a 0.545 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Daimler Group's market share was 7.15%.
The group sold 60.5 thousand of Mercedes in December, followed by 3.31 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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