Sales of new cars decreased by 327 thousand in September compared to last year
In the first nine months of the year, the growth reached 6.94% yoy
Norway performed relatively the best (up 15.7% yoy) while sales in Lithuania showed the weakest change compared to the last year (down 56.8% yoy)
Sales of new passenger cars reached 973 thousand in September 2021 in the enlarged Europe (EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), according to ACEA. This is 25.2%, or 327 thousand less than in the previous year. In the first nine months of 2021, some 9,163 thousand cars were sold in Europe, up 6.94% yoy.
In September, European passenger car registrations continued their decline. Demand in the region shrank by 23.1% to 718,598 units, marking the lowest number of registrations for a month of September since 1995. This decrease in sales was largely caused by a lack of supply of vehicles due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
Historically, between 1990 and 2021, sales of passenger cars in Europe reached a high of 1,937 thousand in March 2017 and a low of 292 thousand in April 2020.
In September, most vehicles (215 thousand) were sold in the United Kingdom (down 34.4% yoy), followed by Germany (197 thousand, down 25.7%), France with 134 thousand cars (down 20.5%), 105 thousand new vehicles were registered in Italy (down 32.6%) and 59.6 thousand in Spain (down 15.7%). The five largest countries accounted for 67.0% of total new vehicles registered in September 2021.
In absolute terms, the best performance in sales of new cars has been seen in Norway (up 2.44 thousand cars) and Iceland (up 0.159 thousand cars). At the other end of the scale, the United Kingdom and Germany showed the weakest change in registration of new cars in September when compared to last year (down 113 thousand and down 68.3 thousand cars, respectively).
In relative terms, sales in Norway (+15.7%) and Iceland (+15.7%) performed the best compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Lithuania and the United Kingdom the worst (-56.8% and -34.4% yoy), in September 2021, according to ACEA:
In the first nine months of the year, some 9,163 thousand cars were sold in Europe, up 6.94% yoy. The table below shows details of the sales for each of the European country:
| Country | September 2021 | September 2020 | YOY Change % | 1-9/2021 | 1-9/2020 | YOY Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 17.9 | 22.2 | -19.4 | 190 | 181 | 5.12 |
| Belgium | 26.6 | 36.1 | -26.4 | 314 | 334 | -6.01 |
| Bulgaria | 1.45 | 1.82 | -20.7 | 19.0 | 17.0 | 11.7 |
| Croatia | 2.75 | 3.10 | -11.2 | 37.1 | 28.2 | 31.5 |
| Cyprus | 1.02 | 0.908 | 12.1 | 8.54 | 7.61 | 12.3 |
| Czech Republic | 14.2 | 16.9 | -16.2 | 162 | 148 | 9.11 |
| Denmark | 14.2 | 17.2 | -17.3 | 140 | 142 | -1.54 |
| Estonia | 1.78 | 1.64 | 8.16 | 18.5 | 14.2 | 30.1 |
| Finland | 6.53 | 8.42 | -22.4 | 78.6 | 73.4 | 7.15 |
| France | 134 | 168 | -20.5 | 1,260 | 1,167 | 8.03 |
| Germany | 197 | 265 | -25.7 | 2,018 | 2,042 | -1.19 |
| Greece | 6.61 | 7.11 | -6.96 | 81.8 | 60.0 | 36.2 |
| Hungary | 9.52 | 11.4 | -16.8 | 94.5 | 90.1 | 4.91 |
| Iceland | 1.17 | 1.01 | 15.7 | 9.85 | 7.27 | 35.5 |
| Ireland | 4.41 | 5.67 | -22.2 | 101 | 86.1 | 17.2 |
| Italy | 105 | 156 | -32.6 | 1,164 | 965 | 20.7 |
| Latvia | 1.10 | 1.23 | -10.4 | 11.6 | 10.4 | 11.6 |
| Lithuania | 2.02 | 4.68 | -56.8 | 26.3 | 28.3 | -6.96 |
| Luxembourg | 2.95 | 4.07 | -27.6 | 35.0 | 34.0 | 2.83 |
| Netherlands | 24.7 | 29.4 | -16.2 | 237 | 250 | -4.91 |
| Norway | 18.0 | 15.6 | 15.7 | 129 | 95.4 | 35.1 |
| Poland | 33.1 | 38.1 | -13.3 | 348 | 295 | 18.0 |
| Portugal | 10.8 | 13.2 | -18.2 | 113 | 106 | 6.50 |
| Romania | 8.94 | 10.9 | -17.8 | 88.3 | 84.6 | 4.33 |
| Slovakia | 5.80 | 6.35 | -8.71 | 58.7 | 55.6 | 5.60 |
| Slovenia | 4.13 | 4.44 | -7.07 | 43.1 | 43.0 | 0.116 |
| Spain | 59.6 | 70.7 | -15.7 | 648 | 595 | 8.82 |
| Sweden | 22.6 | 28.7 | -21.2 | 232 | 203 | 14.7 |
| Switzerland | 19.6 | 21.5 | -8.42 | 180 | 164 | 10.1 |
| United Kingdom | 215 | 328 | -34.4 | 1,317 | 1,244 | 5.87 |
| EU + EFTA | 973 | 1,300 | -25.2 | 9,163 | 8,569 | 6.94 |
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in September 2021 in Europe, some 207 thousand vehicles representing 21.3% of the European market. Sales of PSA Group amounted to 128 thousand vehicles (or 13.2% of the market) while Hyundai Group and Renault Group held 11.1% and 9.90% of the European market in September. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 62.5% of all new cars in September:
Volkswagen Group sold 207 thousand new passenger cars representing a 21.3% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 29.7% fewer vehicles and a 1.36 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Looking back three years, VW's market share was 15.5%.
The Group sold 91.1 thousand of Volkswagen brand cars in September, followed by 42.1 thousand of Audis and 38.7 thousand of Skodas. Seat sold 30.4 thousand vehicles and Porsche some 4.59 thousand cars in September 2021:
PSA Group sold 128 thousand new passenger cars representing a 13.2% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 28.5% fewer vehicles and a 0.617 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, the market share three years ago stood at 17.9% and is down by 4.68 pp now.
The Group sold 48.9 thousand of Peugeots cars, followed by 41.7 thousand of Opels and 34.0 thousand of Citroens in September 2021:
BMW Group sold 68.4 thousand new passenger cars representing a 7.03% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 24.4% fewer vehicles and a 0.077 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, BMW Group's market share is now 2.06 pp lower.
The group sold 57.1 thousand of BMW brand cars, followed by 11.3 thousand of Minis in September 2021:
Hyundai Group sold 108 thousand new passenger cars representing a 11.1% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 6.93% more vehicles and a 3.34 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, Hyundai Group's market share is now 2.97 pp higher.
The group sold 56.1 thousand of Kia brand cars, followed by of s in September 2021:
Renault Group sold 96.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 9.95% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 24.2% fewer vehicles and a 0.124 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Renault Group's market share was 8.09%.
The group sold 58.7 thousand of Renault brand cars in September, followed by 37.7 thousand of Dacias and 0.147 thousand of Ladas:
FCA Group sold 50.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 5.23% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 34.7% fewer vehicles and a 0.759 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago FCA Group's market share stood at 5.43%.
The group sold 34.8 thousand of Fiat brand cars in September, followed by 10.5 thousand of Jeeps and 2.18 thousand of Alfa-Romeos:
Toyota Group sold 66.1 thousand new passenger cars representing a 6.80% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 16.9% fewer vehicles and a 0.680 pp increase in market share when compared to last year. Toyota Group's market share three years ago, by comparison, stood at 6.03%.
The group sold 60.4 thousand of Toyota brand cars in September, with Lexus following at 5.73 thousand cars:
Jaguar Land Rover Group sold 13.0 thousand new passenger cars representing a 1.33% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 43.4% fewer vehicles and a 0.430 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. Three years ago however, the market share of Jaguar Land Rover Group was 2.39%.
The group sold 10.0 thousand of Land Rovers in September, followed by 2.93 thousand of Jaguars:
Daimler Group sold 45.8 thousand new passenger cars representing a 4.71% share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe in September 2021. This is 48.1% fewer vehicles and a 2.08 pp decrease in market share when compared to last year. By comparison, three years ago, Daimler Group's market share was 7.78%.
The group sold 42.7 thousand of Mercedes in September, followed by 3.12 thousand of Smart cars:
Based on a comparison of 64 countries, China ranked the highest with 20,178 thousand passenger cars sold in 2020 followed by Japan and the USA. Total sales of passenger cars reached 53,599 thousand in 2020 in the world, according to ACEA. This is 15.9% less than in the previous year and 3.98% less than 10 years ago. Historically, total sales of passenger cars reached an all time high of 70,695 thousand in 2017 and an all time low of 11,000 thousand in 1961. The average annual growth stands at 2.39% since 1960.
The top ranked country, China, accounted for 37.6% of all passenger cars sold in the world. The top 3 countries held a 51.1% share while the ten largest countries some 75.9% in 2020.
China was the largest car producer in 2020 with 19,994 thousand followed by Japan and Germany. Total production of passenger cars reached 55,834 thousand in 2020 in the world, according to ACEA. China accounted for 35.8% of the world's production, while the top 3 countries held a 54.6% share and the ten largest countries some 79.3% in 2020:
Based on a comparison of 29 countries, Germany ranked the highest in sales of electric cars with 395 thousand followed by France and United Kingdom in 2020. When looking at the ratio of electric to total new cars sold, Norway ranked the highest with 74.8% followed by Iceland and Sweden:
By contrast, the Czech Republic ranked the highest in the number of petrol-fuelled as a proportion of new cars sold with 64.6%, followed by Poland and Slovakia. In terms of diesel-fuelled vehicles, Estonia ranked the highest with 44.8% followed by Ireland and Luxembourg:
In 2016, Switzerland ranked the highest in 4x4 drive cars as a share of new cars sold with 42.1% followed by Norway and Sweden. Switzerland ranked the highest in the average power of new cars sold with 122 kW followed by Luxembourg and Sweden:
Based on the latest available data, Lithuania, Estonia and Romania were the countries with the oldest average age of passenger cars. The average age was an ancient 16.8 years in Lithuania, 16.7 years years for Estonia and 16.5 years years in Romania. On the other end of the scale was Austria with 8.30 years years, the United Kingdom with 8.00 years years and Luxembourg with 6.50 years years.
Based on a comparison of 27 firms among Global Car Producers, Volkswagen Group generated the highest sales in 2019 followed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Daimler Group. At the same time, Toyota Motor Corporation had the highest market value followed by Volkswagen Group and Tesla Inc.:
Volkswagen Group generated the highest earnings before interest costs, taxes and depreciation (so called EBITDA) in 2019 followed by Toyota Motor Corporation and General Motors. At the same time, Ferrari generated the highest EBITDA Margin followed by Porsche AG and BMW Group.
Ferrari produced the highest net profit per car sold in 2019 followed by Porsche AG and Toyota Motor Corporation. Ferrari made a net profit of USD 77,831 for each car sold, down 21.7% compared to the previous year.
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