EU car sales to rise 7.9% in 2022 as chip supply stabilizes

The European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) said on Tuesday, auto sales in the European Union are expected to increase 7.9% this year as semiconductor supply problems ease, but they will still be 20% below pre-pandemic levels of 2019,

The consortium, which represents 16 major European automakers, said this will follow a 2.4% decline in 2021, largely due to a semiconductor shortage in the second half of last year.

Shipments of the chips are expected to stabilize in 2022, ACEA said in a statement, allowing for an increase in passenger car registrations in the European Union to 10.5 million vehicles.

The association called on the European Union to reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers so as not to harm strategic European industries in the future. The forecast comes as the European Union launches its plan on Tuesday to raise tens of billions of euros to boost European semiconductor production and reduce dependence on imports from Asia.

ACEA also pointed to battery electric vehicles, which now account for nearly one in five new cars sold in the European Union, and said that while it welcomes performance, the pace of charging infrastructure adoption has lagged.

With the European Commission stopping the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, national governments and the European Parliament are discussing continental standards for charging stations.

ACEA has called on parliament and national governments to support the European Commission's proposal on regulating alternative fuel infrastructure "to enable Europe to build an intensive charging and refueling infrastructure".