West European Car Sales Remain Weak at 9.8M Annual Rate

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The West European passenger vehicle selling rate remained at 9.8 mn units/year in June, bringing the H1 2022 average to just 8.8 mn units/year, according to the LMC Automotive Consultancy*.

New vehicle registrations remain poor because of ongoing supply constraints, with selling rates below annual results during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

“With June usually a relatively strong month for new vehicle registrations, last month disappointed due to ongoing supply problems. However, in raw data terms last month’s figure did improve by over 100k units, which within the context of a supply- constrained market does indicate some progress for the region,” said LMC.

The German passenger vehicle selling rate fell slightly to 2.3 mn units/year in June, though raw sales did improve month-on-month (MoM). In the UK, the selling rate fell to 1.5 mn units/year, marking the worst June for more than a decade. In France, the selling rate remained flat at 1.5 mn units/year. While in Spain, the selling rate fell slightly to 834k units/year. The Italian passenger vehicle selling rate improved on the month before to 1.3 mn units/year.

“While the June registrations result for the region was slightly above expectation, we continue to see the PV market contracting for the full year due to the assumption that the industry will not overcome supply constraints anytime soon. From next year, we forecast recovery, though recent statistics and the latest news on ongoing supply issues, lead us to remain cautious on the YoY improvement. Another concern relates to underlying demand, which has weakened in recent months as the economic outlook has deteriorated,” said LMC.

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*LMC Automotive is part of the LMC group, now part of GlobalData. Originally founded in 1980, it provides market intelligence, analysis and advice to clients around the world involved with agricultural commodities, foods, industrial materials, bio-fuels and their end-markets. A separate company in the group specializes in the coverage of the rubber and tire sectors. Contact LMC at www.lmc-auto.com or LMC Automotive, 4th Floor, Clarendon House, 52 Cornmarket Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3HJ, United Kingdom.