The Automotive market in 2021 recorded a drop of 25% compared to 2 years ago.

• The general situation
• The situation in Italia
• The situation in France
• The situation in Germany
• The situation in Spain
• The situation in the United Kingdom

The general situation

We all know how the coronavirus is unfortunately the center of the decisions of world economies. The development of this pandemic is also taking away the urge to buy a new car. Everything is suspended waiting for the world to start again even in the serenity of such an important purchase.

In fact, the car is an important but not a fundamental vehicle. Buying a car can be essential in many cases, but if a person already has a car that "walks", they probably don't want to change it right now. The psychological aspect is important but the aspect linked to the finding of the pieces must also be considered.

With the pandemic situation, many car manufacturers are late in delivering cars. This is due to a delay in the extraction of raw materials and a consequent delay in the production of components.

The focus of this delay is the microchips that are holding back the development of the latest generation cars. Probably if cars were built as they were built 100 years ago, there would be no problem. Problems arise when we have a very high component of electronics inside cars. This is why people are, all the more, waiting for the positive development of the pandemic.

If a person has to buy a car and receive it after six months with the risk that it will not be exactly as he ordered it, wait a moment at this point.

2021 was a black year for the car market in Europe. In December there was a decrease of 21% compared to the previous year and is the sixth in a row. Putting together all the cars registered in the 30 countries within the old continent, we touch almost 12 million vehicles. Compared to the 2020 period, we have a decrease of about 1.5%. On the other hand, looking at 2019, the decline is almost 26%. In numerical terms we are talking about over 4 million vehicles that have not been registered and sold.

The Automotive market is as if it had stopped on the zero date of the beginning of the pandemic. This 25% drop in registrations is basically linked to the drop in the desire to change cars. Those who need to change cars do so, while those who are not strictly connected to a pressing need wait.

The situation in Italy

We begin the analysis with our beautiful country and a drop of almost 30%. Precisely we are talking about the 27.5% decrease compared to two years ago. It is one of the worst drops in the history of the car in Italy.

Among the major European markets we are talking about a very significant decline. To be fair, the Italian market is showing a restart compared to 2020 with an increase of 5%. However, looking at the complexity of the moments of total lockdown, in Italy there is very little to celebrate.

2022 does not look very different. The uncertainty of incentives important means that the world is somewhat tied to a thread. While other countries have already foreseen an incentive positioning plan in Europe, Italy is often linked to last-minute issues.

These decisions are clearly part of a complicated process given the gravity of the Italian economic situation. The development of electric cars is important but is still a minority compared to the totality of the car fleet currently in place. In a loud argument, perhaps the Italian government is waiting for the exit from the pandemic to carry out strong tax incentives when everyone decides to buy a car, given the psychological release.

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The situation in France

Climbing the Alps we arrive in France, within a country with a situation that is for good or bad the same as in 2020. The month of December recorded a significant drop, equal to 15%. In the whole of the year, the situation has not changed since last year. Registrations amounted to approximately 1,700,000.

Observing also the data related to pollution, it can be observed that overall pollution is decreasing in France. Also beyond the Alps, gasoline and diesel are decreasing their prominence. Currently in France only one in 5 cars is diesel while we are talking about 40% for petrol. Not bad of course all the other electric or hybrid power supplies, which are gaining points at the expense of the old thermal engines.

The situation in Germany

The land of the big European carmakers recorded a double-digit decline. If, on the one hand, 2,600,000 cars sold in Germany in the last year, the decrease compared to 2020 is as much as 10%. About 300,000 registrations were burned. An interesting fact to note is that 60% of cars registered in Germany are linked to legal entities (i.e. companies). This particular composition underlines how it is the aspects related to the Business that make the Automotive economy move in Germany.

An overall decline in the automotive world also means an indirect contraction of the German economy. In fact, if the company does not renew its fleet, it means that it has little liquidity and problems at the source in the economic planning phase.

Going down in the forms of power supply, the weight of petrol and diesel clearly also decreases, for better or worse as in France. Electric and hybrid are around 21% and 16% respectively.

In terms of pollution, we are recording a decrease as in France, even in the German territory.

The situation in Spain

Our Spanish cousins are also experiencing a very strong crisis in the Automotive sector. If we compare it to 2020, we basically see a stalemate.

However, if we look at the decline linked to 2019, we must register a contraction of a third of the market. The rental sector is in sharp decline, with peaks of 45% less than in 2020.

In Spain, hybrids are much more popular than electric ones.

The situation in the UK

The last market we look at is clearly, not in terms of importance, the UK market. 2021 was the worst period since 1992. If we compare the situation with the pre-pandemic period of 2019, the decline is almost 30%. In numerical terms, approximately 1,600,000 cars were registered with a stalemate compared to 2020.

Obviously, there is a situation linked to Brexit, but which is fundamentally in line with other European situations. The rise of electric cars is affecting a great many Brits and now one in 10 cars in England is electric. This data is certainly interesting as it must be taken into consideration given the economic strength of England not only within its own territories.