PARIS -- The European auto industry suffered through one of its worst years by volume in 2022, but sales should pick up in 2023, according to three forecasters.
Dataforce said Thursday that passenger-car sales are expected to grow by 13 percent to 12.7 million units in the 30 countries that include the EU, the UK, and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The gains are expected from sales to rental companies, a working through of pent-up demand from private buyers, and increased dealer and manufacturer registrations, Dataforce said.
The European automakers’ lobbying group, ACEA, said Tuesday that passenger-car sales are expected to increase by 5 percent across the 26 EU countries to 9.8 million units.
Earlier last month, LMC Automotive said sales in Western Europe would increase by 7.8 percent in 2023 to 10.95 million.
But both ACEA and Dataforce noted that even with expected increases, sales will remain well below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Dataforce’s Benjamin Kibies said in a note that 2023 registrations would be 19 percent below 2019, while Sigrid de Vries, the director general of ACEA, said the 2023 total would still be 25 percent less.