The European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA said on Friday that the European Union's car market is on track to shrink this year, falling by 1% to 9.6 million units in a downward revision from an initial projection for a return to growth.
This is a drop of 26% in car sales in the space of just three years compared to the pre-pandemic figures for the year 2019; the ACEA said in a statement, with reference to the updated forecast for 9.6 million units this year.
The ACEA said framework conditions were needed to be put in place to allow a recovery after Brexit, the coronaviruses epidemic, semiconductor supply bottlenecks and the war in Ukraine.
A EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which ensures access to the raw materials needed for e-mobility, and an accelerated roll-out of charging infrastructure, are some of the things that are included in Europe's supply chains, said ACEA President and CEO of BMW, Oliver Zipse.