European car sales fell 14% in first half of this year

DUBLIN: A shortage of computer chips and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have reportedly hit the European car market. New auto sales in the European Union fell to 4.6 million, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. In the first six months of this year, car sales are down 14 percent.

Sales fell 15.4 percent in June compared to the same month last year, marking the eleventh consecutive monthly decline. A shortage of computer chips has adversely affected the automobile industry over the past year, leaving dealers in a serious crisis.

Sales in Italy tumbled by 22.7 per cent, by 16.3 per cent in France, 11 per cent in Germany and 10.7 per cent in Spain. Car sales in Britain fell by 11.9 percent.

Volkswagen tops the ranking

Volkswagen retained the top spot in the ranking. But its market share fell from 25.8 to 24.1 percent, and sales fell 19.4 per cent to 1.35 million vehicles. Stellantis’ sales fell to 19.4 per cent from 21.3 per cent, while Renault’s sales fell by seven per cent.

Although there was an increase in the sales of Honda cars, just 37,113 cars were sold in six months. Meanwhile, Hyundai-Kia sales rose 12.6 percent.