EU passenger car market contracts by 4.6% in 2022

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Passenger car registrations in the EU shrank 4.6% year-on-year in 2022 due to component shortage in the first half of the year, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Registrations of new passenger cars amounted to 9.3 million units last year, lowest since 1993, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a statement.

Among the EU's four largest markets, Germany was the sole country posting a growth, 1.1%, in 2022. Italy saw the steepest decline (down 9.7%), followed by France (down 7.8%) and Spain (down 5.4%).

In December, new car registrations surged 12.8% from a year ago to 896,967 units.

"The German and Italian car markets had an extremely strong end to 2022, posting double-digit increases of 38.1% and 21.0%, respectively," the association said, adding the Spanish car market narrowed 14.1%, whereas France remained stable (down 0.1%) during the same period.