European car sales suffer worst plunge ever in pandemic

It said lockdowns and other restrictions had an unprecedented impact on car sales across Europe. All major markets recorded double-digit declines, down 32.3 per cent in Spain, 28 per cent in Italy and 25 per cent in France. Germany suffered a more contained 19 per cent drop.December sales were just 3.3 per cent lower than the previous year, but performance varied drastically between markets.

European car sales plunged by nearly a quarter last year as the pandemic provoked the worst crisis ever to hit the capital-intensive industry.

New car registrations sank by 23.7 per cent, or 3 million vehicles, to 9.9 million units, according to new figures released Tuesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. It said lockdowns and other restrictions “had an unprecedented impact on car sales across Europe.” All major markets recorded double-digit declines, down 32.3 per cent in Spain, 28 per cent in Italy and 25 per cent in France. Germany suffered a more contained 19 per cent drop.

December sales were just 3.3 per cent lower than the previous year, but performance varied drastically between markets. Italy and Spain both had double-digit dips, Germany gained 10 per cent while Spain was flat.

Germany's Volkswagen shed 3 per cent in market share, while gains were posted by PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler -- which on Monday officially launched as a new merged entity -- as well as Toyota.