EU new-car sales drop amid supply-chain disruptions

Brussels – New passenger car registrations in the European Union contracted further 6.7% year-on-year during February, as car manufacturers continued to face supply chain disruptions.

With 719,465 units sold across the EU, this was “the weakest result in terms of volumes for the month of February since records began,” said the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) 17 March.

The four key markets of Italy, France, Germany and Spain posted mixed results during the month.

Italy and France recorded double-digit losses at 22.6% and 13.0% respectively, while Spain and Germany saw growths of 6.6% and 3.2%.

Over the first two months of the year, total registrations of new cars in the region declined by 6.4% compared to the same period last year.

Within the four largest markets, Italy saw the largest drop at 21.1%, followed by France at 15.7%. On the other hand, markets in both Germany and Spain grew 5.6% and 4.2% respectively.