EU new car demand falls 52% in May

Brussels – The European passenger car market suffered another sharp year-on-year drop in May, with registrations falling by 52.3%.

Despite the easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures in many countries, the number of new cars sold across the EU fell from 1,217,259 units in May 2019 to 581,161 passenger cars in May of this year, said the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) 17 June.

Double-digit declines were recorded in each of the 27 EU markets, but the drops were less dramatic than in April, which saw a 76.3% year-on-year fall in demand. 

In May, Spain registered the biggest decline among the four major EU markets at 72.7%, while sales were roughly halved in France, Italy and Germany.

For the first five months of the year, overall demand fell by 41.5% after three months of “unprecedented declines” across the region. 

So far this year, car registrations decreased by 54.2% in Spain, 50.4% in Italy and 48.5% in France. 

The contraction of the German market was slightly less severe, with registrations down 35.0% over the first five months of 2020.