Europe’s Car-Sales Outlook Is Bleak After Worst Year in Decades
- French auto industry is ‘in a deep crisis,’ statistician says
- U.K. drop is worst since 1943; Spain shrinks by almost a third
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Europe’s top auto markets posted their biggest annual sales declines in decades, with ongoing coronavirus restrictions expected to crimp a recovery early this year.
Registrations fell by about 25% last year across Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain, Europe’s five largest car-buying countries, according to industry associations and transport ministries. The resurgence of Covid-19 led several governments to re-implement lockdown measures that are likely to drag on demand into early 2021.