ACEA

ACEA ECONOMIC REPORT 2010: Vehicle production on recovery path

Recovering from the very low levels of 2009, vehicle production in the EU progressed on a slow recovery path in 2010, growing by 11%. However, output was still 8% below levels reached in 2008.

With the phasing out of stimulus measures, new passenger car registrations fell by 5.6% in 2010, compared to 2009. The demand for vehicles emitting less than 120 gCO2/km rose by 20%*, up to a total of 3.9 million cars. This is 29% of the total demand for new cars.

This is the executive summary of the ACEA Economic Report 2010. Click here for the full version of the latest ACEA Economic Report.  Also of interest is the the 2011 ACEA Automobile Industry Pocket Guide.

Vehicle production

Following 2009, which saw production drop across most segments throughout the year, 2010 marked the recovery of the automobile industry, although pre-crisis levels have not yet been attained. A total of 16.9 million motor vehicles were produced in the EU in the course of 2010, which is 11% more than in the previous year but 8% less when compared to 2008 and 14% less than in the crisis-free year of 2007.

Despite an 8% increase, new passenger car production reached, in absolute figures, the lowest level recorded since 1997, with the exception of 2009. The number of cars manufactured in the EU in 2010 amounted to 15.1 million units, or 8% more than in the preceding year but 6% less than in 2008.

In absolute figures, Germany remained the largest car producer in the EU, with 5.6 million units in 2010, or 11.8% more than in the previous year. France and Spain performed similarly as both countries manufactured 1.9 million cars and increased their production by 5.7% and 5.6% respectively, compared to 2009. Among the biggest markets, the UK expanded the most in 2010 (+27.1%), with a total of 1.3 million cars. For the first time, the Czech Republic produced over one million cars, which is 9.5% more than in 2009.

Production of vans and trucks increased by 41% and 50% respectively, but volumes remained well below the average level of past years.

Globally, car production increased by 22.4% in 2010, after a 9.6% downturn in 2009. In total, 58.3 million cars were manufactured in 2010. The EU was the biggest producer, accounting for 26% of world car production. China, at 13.9 million units produced , saw its output growth four times higher than production growth in Europe, expanding by 33.8% compared to 8.3% growth in Europe in 2010. Japan, the world’s third largest producer, manufactured 21.1% more cars than in 2009, followed by South Korea (+22.4%), Brazil (+9.8%), India (+29.4%) and the US (+24.4%).

Demand: passenger cars

2010 marked the end of the fleet renewal schemes implemented in a number of EU Member States. These had helped cushion the impact of the crisis. In absolute figures, in 2010, new car registrations reached the lowest level recorded since 1997, with 13.3 million units, or 5.6% less than in 2009 and 14.1% less than in 2007, before the crisis.

Looking beyond Europe, the EU accounts for 23.8% of all new passenger cars registered in the world in 2010, while 20.6% were recorded in the USA (incl. light trucks), and 20.1% were in China.

Demand for cars emitting less than 120gCO₂/km up 20%*

Small cars** (segments A and B) represented 43.4% of new registrations in 2010, while demand for cars emitting less than 120g CO₂/km recorded a 20% increase*, which is a rise of 631,000 on the segment total in 2009. In 2010, 3.9 million units, or 29% of all new cars were lower emission vehicles. The market share of diesel cars** rose from 46.1% to 52.0% in 2010.

*AAA figures for the EU15 from 1995 to 2009, and 23EU countries in 2010 (data for BG, RO, CY and MT n/a)
** based on AAA data in 2010 for the EU15

Demand: commercial vehicles

Registrations of new commercial vehicles increased by 8% in 2010, after the 32% downturn noted in the preceding year.

Vehicles on the roads

According to the latest data on motor vehicles in use in the EU for the year 2009 released by Eurostat (2011 edition), the EU fleet totalled 236.1 million passenger cars, or 1% more than in 2008. Cars accounted for 87.2% of the total motor vehicle fleet in the EU.
While the average age of the EU car fleet is about 8.2 years*, 35% of the cars on European roads are older than 10 years*, according to the latest ANFAC (Spanish Automobile Association) report on motor vehicles in use in the EU (April 2011 edition).

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