Europe 2020 auto sales post record fall as virus hits

PARIS: New car sales in Europe last year suffered a record fall of nearly 24 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said yesterday.

“The EU passenger car market contracted by 23.7 percent to 9.9 million vehicles as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the ACEA said in a statement. “Containment measures-including full scale lockdowns and other restrictions throughout the year-had an unprecedented impact on car sales across the European Union,” it said. “2020 saw the biggest yearly drop in car demand since records began (in 1990)... all 27 EU markets recorded double-digit declines,” it added. The ACEA said that among the biggest auto markets, Spain recorded the sharpest fall at 32.3 percent for the year, with Italy down 27.9 percent and France 25.5 percent. Germany, the bloc’s strongest economy, dropped 19.1 percent. For the month of December alone, EU car sales were down 3.3 percent at just over one million vehicles.

Meanwhile, German car giant Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi said they would temporarily cut production and furlough workers as the auto industry suffers from a shortage of vital computer chips. Volkswagen is sending roughly 8,800 employees at its plant in Emden, northern Germany, into short-time work until January 19, the carmaker told AFP in a statement. The plant produces VW’s own-brand Passat model. —AFP