Sales of new cars decreased by 47.2 thousand in December compared to last year. This year, the decline reached 24.3% yoy . The smallest decline was seen in Ireland (168%) while sales in Croatia dropped the most (-49.5%). Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in December 2020 in Europe, some 317 thousand vehicles representing 26.1% of the European market.
In December 2020, demand for new passenger cars in the European Union declined by 3.3% yoy to 1.03 mil units. Among the largest markets, Italy and France both suffered double-digit losses, with car registrations down 14.9% and 11.8% respectively. By contrast, Germany posted a solid gain (+9.9%) and Spain’s performance remained stable.
In December, most vehicles (311 thousand) were sold in Germany (up 9.89% yoy), followed by France (186 thousand, down 11.8%), the United Kingdom with 133 thousand cars (down 10.9%), 119 thousand new vehicles were registered in Italy (down 14.7%) and 106 thousand in Spain (down 0.011%). The five largest countries accounted for 61.7% of total new vehicles registered in December 2020.
In relative terms, sales in Ireland (+168%) and Norway (+82.8%) declined the least compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Croatia and Slovenia dropped the most (-49.5% and -47.5% yoy), in December 2020, according to ACEA.
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in December 2020 in Europe, some 317 thousand vehicles representing 26.1% of the European market. Sales of PSA Group amounted to 159 thousand vehicles (or 13.1% of the market) while Renault Group and BMW Group held 10.4% and 7.30% of the European market in December. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 63.1% of all new cars in December.
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