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European Auto Sales Still Struggling Just Like U.S., Drops Slow Down

We are going through one of the oddest periods in modern history and the effects have been devastating on so many levels. The automotive industry is inherently linked at a global level – so the pressure has been massive. Both U.S. and European auto deliveries have been falling, but there is still hope.
BMW 530e 1 photo
Photo: BMW AG
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, new passenger car registrations in the European Union for June showed a slight recovery – sales dropped by just 22.3% compared to the same period in 2019. Figures totaled 949,722 units, compared to 1,222,942 cars in June 2019.

Still, the decline has slowed compared to the overall 38.1% drop registered for the first six months of the year. During the January to June period demand for passenger cars on the Old Continent’s countries part of the European Union has contracted sharply following an unprecedented series of consecutive monthly declines.

For example, the May 2020 figures marked a spectacular negative result of -52.3% across the EU. Naturally, even though during June most dealers that were shut down finally opened for business, it was clear that demand will recover slower than expected. Total figures for the European Union, the EFTA members and the United Kingdom showed a drop of 39.5% during the first six months of the year.

They receded from 8,427,639 units over the same period in 2019 to just 5,101,669 cars in 2020. For the entire period Spain was the worst affected (-50.9%) followed by Italy (-46.1%), France (-38.6%) and Germany (-34.5%).

Meanwhile, in the United States figures for the second quarter of the year declined by 33.3%, according to a market analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence. This translates into an overall (not adjusted seasonally) tally of 2.95 million units – compared to Q2 2019 when the U.S. auto market reached deliveries of 4.42 million vehicles.

The worst decline was registered in the passenger car segments – with a sharp drop of 46.9% (685,168 units). Trucks, SUVs, and minivans fared a little better with a 27.7% drop to 2.26 million vehicles. According to the report some U.S. carmakers have also said there were slight signs of improvement during the latter part of the quarter.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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