Oxford, UK – West European car registrations in November 2020 were down by 14.1% compared with November 2019, at 940,000 units, according to data from LMC Automotive. The 2019 figure was 1.09m.
November continues fall in Western Europe's car sales
Looking at the largest markets, in Germany sales were down 3% in November, with registrations at 290,150 units. Sales so far are down 21.6% in 2020
In the UK, sales were down 30.7% year on year. Sales totalled 113,800 cars in the month.
In France, the year-on-year number of registrations fell by 26.9%, with a total of 1.5 m units sold there in the year so far. Spanish sales were down by 18.7% in the month at 75,700 units.
Meanwhile, in Italy sales were down by 8.3% reaching a total of 138,400 units in November. A total of 1.26 m vehicles have been sold there in the year to date.
LMC said that re-imposition of coronavirus lockdowns across parts of Europe disrupted the earlier path to recovery. The sales were more robust than in earlier lockdowns because in several countries it has been possible to register cars even if showrooms were closed. However, year to date sales are down 26.2% in the year so far with only a month to go.
January is likely to start slowly, and momentum is only likely to grow in the second half of 2021, said the consultants.
