The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the EU demand for passenger cars, which contracted by 32% in the first eight months of 2020, whereas in Croatia alone, the demand was cut by half, according to figures provided by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

In the said period, in the 26-strong EU (without Malta) a total of 6.12 million new passenger cars were registered, down by 32% compared to January-August 2019.

“In total, 6,123,852 new cars were registered across the European Union from January to August, almost 2.9 million less than during the same period last year. Among the EU’s largest markets, Spain saw the biggest decline (-40.6%) so far this year, followed by Italy (-38.9%), France (-32.0%) and Germany (-28.8%).”

In August alone, the EU car market posted a stronger decline (-18.9%) again, although less dramatic than earlier in the year.

“With the exception of Cyprus (+14.1%), all countries in the region recorded losses compared to August 2019. Looking at the four major EU markets, Italy performed best, with a slight drop of 0.4%, while the strongest declines were seen in Germany (-20.0%) and France (-19.8%).”

In Croatia, last month saw the registration of 2,601 new cars, down by 23.6% on the year.