Europe: In the first half of 2022, the registration of new commercial vehicles decreased by 20.3 percent across Europe, and in the month of June, the proportion decreased even further to 22.5 percent.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), a trade group located in Brussels, attributed the lack of vehicle registration to a decline in new van sales, which make up 80% of the overall decrease in enrollment.
The four largest EU markets—Spain (-26.9 percent), Germany (-26.1 percent), Italy (-21.3%), and France—saw double-digit declines (-20.9 percent).
Moreover, Belgium saw a significant decrease in vehicle registrations compared to the same time period in 2021, with January and March showing the largest difference.
As per the trade association, 12.7 million Europeans work in the industry and may be directly or indirectly affected by the drop in vehicle registrations.
Motor vehicles are responsible for €398.4 billion of tax revenue for European governments.
Along with this, in 2020, there were a total of 0.53 passenger cars per inhabitant within the European Union, as per the data from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency.
The western EU Member States have some of the highest automobile ownership rates per 1,000 people, whereas the eastern Member States typically have far lower car ownership rates.
The results show that Valle D’Aosta in northwest Italy has the highest motorization rate in the EU, with 1,787 automobiles per 1,000 people.
On the French island of Mayotte, where there were just 72 automobiles per 1,000 people, the lowest car ownership rate was found. The overseas regions of France and the many islands of Greece have among of the lowest automobile ownership rates.
These variations are determined by a number of elements, including tax laws, connectivity, and infrastructure quality.
According to Eurostat, there are around 5.9 million automobiles in Belgium or 509 vehicles per 1,000 persons. The provinces of Flemish Brabant (679), Limburg (544), Walloon Brabant (518), and Luxembourg had the highest percentages of automobile owners in Belgium (508).
