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Auto: Promotor, catastrophic outcomes in the European market

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 19 - The balance of car sales in Western Europe in 2020 "is catastrophic," according to Centro Studi Promotor, which spoke of "a level of registrations almost identical to that of 1994, that is 26 years ago." The reason for the dramatic fall in auto sales, he explained, "is the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic that has spared no country. Registrations fell in all 30 countries of the eurozone with the biggest decrease, 42.8%, in Croatia." Thanks to effective measures put in place in many countries, the decrease was slightly lower in December. Nonetheless, "predictions for 2021 remain dire both for the pandemic's trend and the exhaustion in 2020 of important measures to support demand and not yet renewed in 2021." The Promotor Study Center highlighted "the strong growth in the share of electric or plug-in hybrid cars which are contrasted by growing difficulties for diesel." The share of electric and plug-in hybrids is still not very significant, even if markets such as Germany and the United Kingdom have exceeded 10%. In Germany, it reached 13.5% in 2020, in the United Kingdom, it reached 10.7%, but it did not exceed 4, 3% in Italy. "The car market in Western Europe - said Gian Primo Quagliano, president of the Centro Studi Promotor - recorded a decline of 24.3%, and predictions for 2021 remain dire due both to the pandemic recovery and the uncertainty in several euro area countries over effective measures to support the business." (ANSA).