Sales of new cars decreased by 85.8 thousand in October compared to last year. In the first ten months of the year, the decline reached 27.2% yoy . The smallest decline was seen in Norway (23.6%) while sales in Latvia dropped the most (-29.3%). Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in October 2020 in Europe, some 283 thousand vehicles representing 25.1% of the European market.
In October, the EU market slipped back into negative territory, after posting the first increase of the year in September. Registrations of new cars declined by 7.8% to 953,615 units last month, as several European governments reimposed restrictions to battle a second wave of the coronavirus. With the exception of Ireland and Romania, losses were posted in all EU markets, including the four major ones.
In October, most vehicles (274 thousand) were sold in Germany (down 3.62% yoy), followed by France (171 thousand, down 9.49%), Italy with 157 thousand cars (up 0.081%), 141 thousand new vehicles were registered in the United Kingdom (down 1.61%) and 74.2 thousand in Spain (down 21.0%). The five largest countries accounted for 65.8% of total new vehicles registered in October 2020.
In relative terms, sales in Norway (+23.6%) and Romania (+17.6%) declined the least compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Latvia and Slovakia dropped the most (-29.3% and -29.1% yoy), in October 2020, according to ACEA.
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in October 2020 in Europe, some 283 thousand vehicles representing 25.1% of the European market. Sales of PSA Group amounted to 172 thousand vehicles (or 15.2% of the market) while Renault Group and Hyundai Group held 10.5% and 7.20% of the European market in October. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 64.9% of all new cars in October.
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