PARIS – New car sales in Europe last year suffered a record fall of nearly 24% due to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said today.
"The EU passenger car market contracted by 23.7% to 9.9 million vehicles as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic," the ACEA said in a statement.
"Containment measures – including full-scale lockdowns and other restrictions throughout the year – had an unprecedented impact on car sales across the European Union," it said.
"(The year) 2020 saw the biggest yearly drop in car demand since records began (in 1990)... all 27 EU markets recorded double-digit declines," it added.
The ACEA said that among the biggest auto markets, Spain recorded the sharpest fall at 32.3% for the year, with Italy down 27.9% and France 25.5%.
Germany, the bloc's strongest economy, dropped 19.1%.
For last month alone, EU car sales were down 3.3% at just over one million vehicles. – AFP, January 19, 2021
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