Oxford, UK – Western European car registrations were down by almost 20% in March 2022as supply chain problems and Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine hampered the market and dampened sentiment.
In March this year, the western European light vehicle market sold 1.02 m units, according to data from LMC Automotive; in March last year, that number was 1.27m units.
The European automotive market has shrunk by 11.3% in 2022 so far, to 2.48m units, down from 2.79m units at this stage a year ago.
'The start of the year has been very disappointing as the automotive industry continues to endure the impact of supply problems… the horrific war in the Ukraine only adds to these problems,' the consultants said in their monthly guidance. 'For now, demand is outstripping supply.'
Sales have fallen in all the largest markets. In Germany, sales were down 17.5% in March, from a weak month in 2021. Registrations were 241,330 units. This kept the year-to-date figures in negative territory. Sales reflect the supply-side problems, said the consultants.
In the UK, monthly sales were down 14.3%, and year-to-date sales were down 1.9% year on year. Sales hit a total of 243,4790 cars in the month. Supply chain bottlenecks meant that in the market meeting demand was never a realistic proposition, the consultants said, in what is usually a strong month for registrations.
In France, year-to-date number registrations fell by 17.3%, with a total of 370,000 units sold there in the year so far. In March
Spanish sales were down by 30.2% in the month at 59,920 units. The year-to-date total is 164,400 units, lower by 11.6% on the state of sales this time last year.
In Italy, sales were down by 29.7% to 119,497 units in March. A total of 340,000 vehicles have been sold there in the year to date.
