European car sales hit a 17-year record low in 2012

Recently, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) announced the 2012 car sales data. In 2012, the number of registered light vehicles in the European Union's 27 countries (hereinafter referred to as “sales”) fell by 8.2% year-on-year to 12.05 million vehicles, a new low in 17 years; the year-on-year decline in sales volume was the largest in 20 years.

In December 2012, the number of passenger vehicles sold in the EU-27 was 799,407 units. In the same period of 2011, the sales volume was 955,537 units, which represented a decrease of 16.3% year-on-year. From the beginning of October 2011 to December 2012, the European automobile market decreased for the 15 consecutive months. Since 2008, this is the highest year-on-year drop in December and the lowest in December sales.

Due to the double-digit decline in sales in December, the European car market was worse than before. For the whole year of 2012, the number of passenger vehicles sold in the EU-27 was 12,053,904, which was a year-on-year decline of 8.2% on the basis of 13,130,466 units in 2011. In 2011, it was not only the lowest point of European car sales since 1996, but also the largest drop since 1993 (down 16.9%).

If the EU-27 plus the European Free Trade Association EFTA in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, the three Nordic countries, in December 2012, the European market sales of passenger cars was 838,428 units, sales in the same period in 2011 was 997,842 units, a year-on-year decrease of 16.0 %; In 2012, sales of passenger cars in the European market totaled 12,527,912 units. Sales volume in the same period of 2011 was 13,592,823 units, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%.

If the EU’s early 15 member states plus the 3 countries in the EFTA, the so-called Western Europe (actually Western Europe plus Northern Europe) region, sales were 781,830 units in December 2012, and sales were 929,008 units in the same period of 2011, a year-on-year decrease. 15.8%; In 2012, sales of passenger cars in Western Europe totaled 11,772,415 units. Sales volume for the same period in 2011 was 12,815,457 units, which was a decrease of 8.1% year-on-year.