According to data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), DPA and Reuters, the number of new cars in Europe fell by 4.1% in 2022, while Romania reported a 6.7% increase last year.

The statistics are valid for the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Great Britain and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), respectively Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

A total of 11.28 million cars were registered in Europe last year, up from 11.77 million in 2021. Among the five largest European markets, only Germany reported an increase in sales last year (1.1%), while Italy (minus 9.7%), France (minus 7.8%), Spain (minus 5.4%) and Great Britain (minus 2%) recorded a decrease.

Last year, 129,328 cars were registered on the Romanian car market, compared to 121,208 units in 2021.

The decline in 2022 comes amid global semiconductor shortages and disruptions in supply chains, ACEA says.

Romania’s car market grew by 4.9% in December, when 12,437 vehicles were registered, compared to 11,858 vehicles in the same period of 2021.

A total of 1.09 million vehicles were registered in Europe last month, compared to 950,052 in December 2021. It was the fifth month of growth in car sales.

In December, the five main European markets saw mixed changes, from growth in Germany (38.1%), Italy (21%), Great Britain (8.3%) to a decrease of 14.1% in Spain, while the market cars in France remained stable. (minus 0.1%).

The EU automotive sector employs 13 million people (directly or indirectly), accounting for 11.5% of all jobs in the industrial sector in the EU bloc. In addition, almost 8% of EU GDP is generated by the automotive industry. (Agerpress)

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(article photo: ©Bogdanel Vacarciuc|Dreamstime.com)