The car market continues to suffer, among the hardest hit by the economic consequences of the coronavirus emergency. After the -51,8% recorded on sales in March and the -78,3% in April, the difficulties continue in May. According to the latest data released by Acea, last month in Western Europe - which includes the European Union, the United Kingdom and the EFTA area - there were 623.812 cars registered. In May 2019, registrations had more than doubled, amounting to 1.444.173 units. In percentage terms, therefore, it is a decrease of 56,8%. Taking stock of the first five months of 2020, registrations in Western Europe are close to 4 million cars (3.969.714 to be precise), showing a decline of 42,8 percent.
In the European Union alone the thud is 52,3%, with Acea underlining that despite the easing of restrictions, the number of new cars sold in the whole area has dropped from 1.217.259 units in May 2019 to 581.161 cars in May this year.
From a territorial point of view, the worst drop was recorded by the United Kingdom, where in May sales fell by as much as 89%. Spain was also very bad (-72,7%), while in France (-50,3%), Italy (-49,6%) and Germany (-49,5%) sales are halved.
Speaking of individual car manufacturers, Volkswagen, which holds the largest market share, recorded a drop of 56,7% in May for the two French giants, Renault e A dog, closed the month with falls of 53,7% and 59,7% respectively. Online too FCA, whose sales in May decreased by -56,6% from 101.498 cars sold in the same month of 2019 to 44.099 in 2020, with the market share remaining stable at 7,1%. Since the beginning of the year, the group has sold 225.592 cars, equal to a drop of 49,9% with the share falling from 6,5 to 5,7%.
On the Stock Exchange, after the release of Acea data, the Eurostoxx auto index moved slightly up, posting +0,1%. On parity FCA (+0,1%) in Milan and Volkswagen (+0,05%) in Frankfurt, while in Paris Peugeot lost 0,15% and Renault 1%.
