ACEA: Car sales rising, but still markedly below pre-pandemic levels

It’s no surprise that considerably more new cars were sold throughout the European Union in May 2021 than during the corresponding month of last year. Indeed, upon reporting the 891,665 new registrations for the month, a 53.4 per cent year-on-year increase compared with May 2020, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) notes that the bar was set low by the lockdowns and various restrictions in place throughout Europe a year ago. In order to place the latest registration figures into context, the ACEA points out that no less than 1.2 million passenger cars were sold within the region in May 2019, 26.7 per cent higher than last month’s figure.

The ACEA reports that 156,737 new cars were sold in the UK in May 2021, an eye-watering increase of 674.1 per cent year-on-year. The latest figures lose some of their lustre, however, when placed alongside those for May 2019, when 183,724 new cars were sold – 14.7 per cent more than last month.

January to May registrations

At 4,314,264 units, EU registrations for the first five months of the year are 29.5 per cent above registrations for January to May 2020, with the steep declines in the first two months of 2021 counterbalanced by rises in March, April and May. Despite this turnaround in the most recent three-months, year-to-date registrations are 27.6 per cent lower than those for January to May 2019.

The story in the UK is similar, with the 723,845 cars sold between January to May 2021 representing a 42.5 per cent year-on-year increase. Compared with registrations in January to May 2019, the latest figures reflect a decrease of 30.8 per cent.