Supply issues push new car registrations into decline across Europe

New car registrations across Europe fell by 17% in June, recording the worst performance for the month since 1993.

Data from Jato Dynamics shows that volumes fell from 1,268,508 units in June 2021 to 1,054,807 units for the same period this year.

Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “The operating environment is becoming increasingly difficult, and worryingly the few safe havens that previously existed across the industry are now starting to show signs of decline too.”

SUVs and EVs, which had been drivers of growth over previous months, are now posting declines. Last month, registrations for SUVs fell by 7% when compared to June 2021, marking a year-to-date decline of 4%. However, they still posted a record market share of 49.5%.

The same can be said for electrified vehicles. A total of 215,000 units were registered in June 2022, down by 8% from the 233,000 units registered a year ago. This is the biggest fall on record for these cars since April 2020, when the worst of the pandemic hit the market. From the total, pure electric cars accounted for 62%, while 38% were plug-in hybrid electric cars.

Tesla, Volkswagen, Renault, Audi, Skoda, and Ford were the most affected. While Tesla was mainly hit by the halt of production at its plant in China, the brands from Volkswagen Group were forced to stop producing a number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles due to supply issues arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In contrast, BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot, Kia, Fiat and Cupra recorded growth.

Excluding brands with only BEV and PHEV models available, within its own registrations, Jeep posted the highest market share increase for its EV models – jumping from 30% in June 2021, to 47% last month. It was followed by Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Lexus, and Citroen.

The Peugeot 208 reinforced its position as the best-selling model, increasing its volume by 38%, while others such as the Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Yaris, and Renault Clio fell by more than 30% each.

Tesla’s performance was hindered by its Model 3, which posted a 76% decline. However, its Model Y made the top 10 with 16,700 units. Peugeot recorded a 149% increase with the 308, and Kia performed well with the Sportage up by 39%, and EV6 registered almost 2,000 units.

Mercedes was stable with 56,400 units. The drop posted by the A Class (-19%), E Class (-11%) and CLA (-22%) were offset by the 2% increase at the C Class, and the very good results from the GLC, up by 132%. Further down, the new Qashqai helped Nissan to contain the big loses from the rest of the lineup.

Cupra shone with volumes up by 77% to 15,300 units. The Formentor was Europe’s third best-selling PHEV during the month.

Other big performers included the Toyota Yaris Cross (6th best-selling B-SUV), the Renault Arkana (third best-selling Renault), the Volkswagen Taigo (6th best-selling Volkswagen), and the MG HS (the top-selling MG). Dacia increased the registrations of the Spring by 58%; Ford Ecosport up by 52%; Hyundai Bayon up by 55%.

In the UK, year-to-date fleet and business new car registrations were down 25.2% in the first half of this year compared to last year, while private registrations were up by 4.2%.

The figures, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), show that 373,505 units were registered to fleet and business from January to June, while last year the sector received almost half a million units.

Meanwhile, there were 428,034 private new cars registrations, up 4.2% on the 410,700 units registered last year.

Both retail and fleet and business registrations were down in June, however, with fleet and business registrations falling by 26.6% and private new car registrations down by 21.7%.