Persistent shortage of chips New car sales in France plunged 31% in October

According to foreign media reports, as the shortage of semiconductors continues to affect car production in Europe and around the world, new car registrations in France plunged 31% in October from a year earlier. The number of French car registrations in the month was 118521, down 37 per cent from October 2019 before the outbreak, according to CCFA, an industry group.

Sam Fiorani, an auto analyst at AutoForecast Solutions, estimates that European production has lost 2765053 vehicles so far this year due to semiconductor shortages, with 824000 in Germany alone. Automakers including Renault and Stellantis say the chip shortage is likely to ease in the coming months, but it is certain that the chip crisis will last until 2022.

Although the overall car market has declined, some brands have achieved growth. Hyundai sales are up 11%, Dacia up 2.8% and jeep up 34%.

Sales at Stellantis fell 38 per cent, with Peugeot down 38 per cent, Citroen 37 per cent, Opel 67 per cent, Fiat 25 per cent and DS 19 per cent. Renault's sales fell 29%, of which sales of the Renault brand fell 38%, offsetting Dacia's growth. Volkswagen's sales fell 40%, with Volkswagen brands down 45%, Siat down 43%, Skoda 38% and Audi 39%. BMW group sales fell 24%, of which the BMW brand and the Mini brand fell by 22% and 28%, respectively. Mercedes-Benz sales fell 25%. Volvo sales fell 28%. Ford's sales plunged 51%.

Among Asian brands, Toyota fell less, by 4.4%. Nissan fell by 37%. Suzuki sales fell 28 per cent year-on-year. Sales of Hyundai Group increased by 1.8%, of which Hyundai brand rose 11%, but Kia brand sales fell 5.6%.

French fleet emissions continued to decline that month, with overall carbon dioxide emissions hitting a new low of 102 grams per kilometer, down 14% from a year earlier.

In the first 10 months of this year, the market share of pure electric vehicles reached 8.9%, compared with 6% in the same period last year. The share of hybrid vehicles is 25.4%, almost double that of the same period last year. The market share of plug-in hybrids rose to 8.2% from 3.8% last year. The share of diesel vehicles is 21.7% and that of gasoline vehicles is 41%.