European car sales down for tenth consecutive month

European car sales down for tenth consecutive month
Credit: Nicolas Maeterlinck / Belga

Compared to the same period last year, new registrations of non-commercial vehicles in the EU were down 13.7% for the period January–May 2022.

In May alone, car registration declined by 11.2%, according to Acea reports. May marks the tenth consecutive month of the decline in these numbers.

Europe's four major automobile markets have been affected. Italy has been hit the hardest by the decline, experiencing a 15% downturn in the rate of registration in May and a 24% drop over the five-month period. Spain, Germany and France have also seen slumps of around 10%.

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Belgium has experienced an even bigger dip in new car registrations with a decline of 16.7% in May and 16% in the first five months of 2022.

Of cars manufactured in Belgium, Volvo was most affected with sales falling by over 20%. Other Belgium manufacturers (such as Audi, Opel and Ford) saw similar, though less severe, drops.

Not all countries experienced a decline, however. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania experienced large increases in car purchases last month, as well as over the five-month period. For Bulgaria, new car registrations in May jumped by 35%.


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