ACEA reports boost in December passenger car registrations, drop overall in 2022
January 18, 2023
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has reported that car registrations in the EU expanded by 12.8% in December, marking the fifth consecutive growth month in 2022. Overall in 2022, however, the EU passenger car market contracted by -4.6%, mainly as a result of component shortages early in the year.
Despite December’s overall positive result, only two of the region’s four major markets recorded growth: Germany (+38.1%) and Italy (21.0%). Spain saw a substantial decline of 14.1%, while France remained stable -0.1%.
Overall in 2022, the European Union passenger car market contracted by 4.6%; this was reportedly due, chiefly, to the impact of component shortages in the first half of the year. Although the market improved from August to December 2022, cumulative volumes are at 9.3 million units, the region’s lowest level since 1993, which saw 9.2 million units registered.
Among the top EU markets, only Germany posted growth (1.1%) in 2022, bolstered by the strong result in December. The other three markets all declined year on year, with Italy noting the steepest decline (-9.7%), followed by France (-7.8%) and Spain (-5.4%).
Although the market improved from August to December 2022, cumulative volumes stand at 9.3 million units, the region’s lowest level since 1993, when 9.2 million units were registered. Among the EU’s four largest markets, only Germany managed to post growth in 2022 (+1.1%), helped by the strong result in December. The other three markets all performed worse than in 2021, with Italy posting the steepest decline (-9.7%), followed by France (-7.8%) and Spain (-5.4%).
