Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as European Union car sales slump 23.7% last year
- EU car sales drop 23.7% last year
- Worst drop on record
Following Brexit, the UK car market isn’t included in ACEA’s count of EU car sales — but it suffered an even bigger slump last year.
UK car sales slumped by over 29% in 2020 to 1.63m, from 2.3m a year (according to data from the SMMT earlier this month).
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Europe’s car industry has suffered its biggest ever drop in sales, as the Covid-19 pandemic dealt an “unprecedented” to the sector.
Containment measures – including full‐ scale lockdowns and other restrictions throughout the year – had an unprecedented impact on car sales across the European Union.
2020 saw the biggest yearly drop in car demand.
European Car Sales fall 24% in 2020, biggest decline on record..
European new car sales drop by 3.7% y/y in December – ACEA
ACEA said 2020 saw the biggest yearly drop in car demand since records began, with new car registrations falling by 24.3% compared to 2019.
Janet Yellen will lay out the case for President-elect Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9tn relief package at her confirmation hearing as Treasury secretary, arguing that “the smartest thing we can do is act big”.
In prepared remarks obtained by the Financial Times ahead of her appearance before the Senate finance committee on Tuesday, Ms Yellen said the US risked “a longer, more painful recession” and “long-term scarring” if it did not move quickly to inject more government spending into the economy.
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