EU new car sales rose sharply in March - ACEA

According to the report from European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), in March 2021, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union increased by 87.3%. 1,062,446 new cars were sold in the EU last month, compared to 567,253 during the same month in 2020.

In March 2021, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union increased by 87.3%, the result of last year’s exceptionally low base of comparison caused by the strict COVID-19 restrictions introduced in most markets in March 2020. 1,062,446 new cars were sold in the EU last month, compared to 567,253 during the same month in 2020. Triple-digit gains were posted by three of the four largest EU markets: Italy saw the biggest increase (+497.2%), followed by France (+191.7%) and Spain (+128.0%). The German market also showed strong gains, with sales up 35.9% in March.

During the first quarter of 2021, EU demand for new cars grew by 3.2% to reach 2.6 million units registered in total. Despite steep declines during the first two months of the year (-24.0% in January and -19.3% in February), March’s strong results managed to offset the negative trend. Looking at the major EU markets, last month’s gains brought the cumulative performances of Italy and France into positive territory (up 28.7% and 21.1% respectively). On the other hand, both Spain (-14.9%) and Germany (-6.4%) continued to post declines so far in 2021, although significantly less dramatic than in the preceding months.