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Demand for new vehicles halved in Croatia, Spain and Italy

ZAGREB, July 19 (Hina) – The demand for new vehicles in Europe plummeted in the first half of 2020 due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, with the biggest fall recorded in Croatia, Spain and Italy, shows a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

The demand for new vehicles has been falling in the EU since March when lockdown measures were introduced to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

“Over the first half of 2020, EU demand for new passenger cars contracted by 38.1%, the result of four consecutive months of unprecedented declines across the region. Among the four major EU markets, Spain saw the biggest decline (-50.9%) so far this year, followed by Italy (-46.1%), France (-38.6%) and Germany (-34.5%),” reads the report issued on 16 July.

In Croatia, there were 17,423 new cars registered in the first half of the year, which is a reduction of 54.4% on the year.

April sees biggest decline

The biggest fall in demand (-76.3%) was recorded in April when restrictions were in force throughout that month. With restrictions being gradually lifted in May, the decline (-52.3%.) was less pronounced.

In June alone, “registrations of new passenger cars in the EU totalled 949,722 units, a drop of 22.3% compared to the same month last year, when 1,222,942 cars were sold,” said ACEA.

France was the only country to see a mild increase, +1.2% in registrations of new passenger cars last month.

“All EU markets continued to post significant declines in June, with France (+1.2%) being the only exception to the rule. The latter can be explained by the new incentives to stimulate sales of low-emission vehicles that were introduced by the French government at the beginning of June,” reads the report.

Looking at the other major car markets, Spain (-36.7%), Germany (-32.3%) and Italy (-23.1%) all recorded double-digit drops last month.

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