Historically lowest car sales in the EU since 1993

In November 2021, European Union passenger car registrations fell for the fifth consecutive month this year (-20.5%), totalling 713,346 units sold.

In volume terms, this result marked the lowest November total on record since 1993. Double-digit losses were recorded in many EU markets, including three of the four major ones: Germany (-31.7%), Italy (-24.6%) and Spain (-12.3%). France saw a more modest drop of 3.2% last month; Bulgaria, Ireland and Slovenia were the only EU markets posting growth.

Eleven months into the year, the impact of the microchip shortage on vehicle output dragged the EU’s year-to-date sales performance into negative territory (-0.04%), and this despite 2020’s record low base for comparison. Nevertheless, three of the four largest EU markets still posted positive results from January to November 2021: Italy (+8.6%), Spain (+3.8%) and France (+2.5%). In Germany, on the other hand, registrations of new cars further weakened (-8.1%) compared to one year ago.