ZAGREB, Dec 17, 2020 – Demand for new cars in the European Union fell by 25% in January-November 2020 compared with the same period of 2019, while in Croatia the fall was nearly double the EU average, a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) shows.
From January to November this year, a total of 12 million new cars were registered in 26 EU member states (excluding Malta), which is a decline of 25.5% compared with the same period last year.
“Eleven months into the year, the impact of COVID-19 continued to weigh heavily on the cumulative performance of all EU markets, including the four major ones. Spain saw the biggest drop (-35.3%) so far in 2020, followed by Italy (-29.0%), France (-26.9%) and Germany (-21.6%),” ACEA said.
In Croatia, 33,393 new cars were registered in the January-November period, 42.2% fewer than last year, which was the largest decrease in the EU.
The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic compelled EU governments to impose severe restrictions to curb its spread. This resulted in a 12% drop in the number of new car registrations in the EU in November 2020, compared with a 7.8% decline in November 2019.
Last month, 897,692 new cars were registered in 26 EU member states (excluding Malta), with four key passenger car markets posting declines.
“France and Spain suffered double-digit drops (down 27.0% and 18.7% respectively), followed by Italy with a more modest decline (-8.3%). German losses were limited to just -3.0%,” ACEA said.
In Croatia, 2,646 new cars were registered in November, down by 23.5% from November 2019. A similar drop was also recorded in October.
