CAR SALES IN EUROPE JUMPED 63 PERCENT IN MARCH
Europe’s auto sales soared last month from a depressed level a year ago, making up for a dismal start to the year even as virus-related restrictions persisted in key markets.
New car-registrations rose 63 percent in March, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said Friday. The gains erased an early-year decline to leave sales up 0.9 percent for the quarter.
While automakers are benefiting from easy comparisons to a year ago, when countries were locking down to contain the spread of COVID-19, last month’s sales stack up well even relative to pre-pandemic. The 1.39 million vehicles registered was the highest since June 2019.
Carmaker shares advanced on sales regaining momentum and Daimler reporting better-thanexpected earnings for the first quarter. The Mercedes-Benz maker cited strong sales in all major regions.
Consumers returning to dealerships are a welcome development for the industry after months of Europe’s car market
lagging behind rising sales seen in China and the U.S. Carmakers’ concerns have shifted dramatically from demand to supply issues, with the global chip shortage hampering production for the likes of VW, Stellantis and Renault.
“Only the critical global supply situation for various semiconductor categories currently has a
limiting effect on this upswing,” VW CEO Herbert Diess said at the Hannover Messe trade fair Thursday.
March tends to be a seasonally strong time of year for Europe’s auto industry, so registrations were still about 13 percent below what the industry averaged for the month in the decade before the pandemic, according to the ACEA.
While Italy — the epicenter of Europe’s initial virus outbreak — saw sales rise almost 500 percent last month, they remained 12 percent below 2019 levels as virus-related measures curb economic activity.
Carmakers have been coping with restrictions by moving sales processes online and taking advantage of government subsidies for electric vehicles. Economic forecasters have said the continent’s growth prospects rest on a vaccination program that started slowly but has begun to accelerate.
Among Europe’s five largest markets, sales rose 29 percent and 21 percent in Italy and France in the first quarter. Registrations fell 15 percent in Spain, 12 percent in the U.K. and 6.4 percent in Germany.
The industry witnessed historic consolidation during the quarter, with France’s PSA Group merging with ItalianAmerican carmaker Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis. About 47 percent of vehicles registered in the first three months of the year were VW or Stellantis models.