The last month of last year in car sales turned out to be better than the same month a year earlier, showing a 3% increase (1141 against 1110), according to data compiled by the Car Association. However, this does not indicate that the situation in the car industry has significantly improved.
The increase is rather due to the particularly low activity in December 2020, when a large number of companies did not work and the public was in the pre-holiday meeting. True, the year as a whole has been 8% more successful than the previous one. 6% more passenger cars and 19% more light commercial vehicles have been sold. In 2021, 14,343 passenger cars (2020 – 13522) and 2530 light commercial vehicle units (2020 – 2120) were sold.
December has not changed the top of the brands either. Toyota closes last year with a market share of 16.6% with 2,804 cars. In a fierce battle, with 1908 cars and 11.3%, second place went to Volkswagen, followed by third-place winner Škoda with just over 26 cars and 0.1% market share. This is followed by Peugeot with 1137 cars and 6.7%, Renault with 939 cars and 5.6%, KIA with 785 cars and 4.7%. Among the winners of the year are Hyundai, which has risen to two places in the Top 10 with 729 cars and 4.3%, followed by Nissan, BMW and Dacia with 683 (4.0%), 582 (3.4%) and 568 ( 3.4%).
In the electric car segment, the leader in the December top is Hyudai with 12 units, followed by VW with 7, Peugeot with 6 and Mazda with 5 cars. A total of 48 electric cars were sold in December, which is a respectable 4.2% of all new cars sold in December.
The year 2021 has filled the Latvian car fleet with 438 new electric cars, which is 3% of all passenger cars. Meanwhile, imports of used electric cars have slowed down significantly. This is probably a silence before the value of imports caused by state aid. In December, only 35 used electric cars were imported, which is 0.8% of all used car imports. Leaders are Tesla and BMW with 7 cars, followed by 6 Hyundai and 5 Nissan. In 2021, a total of 544 used electric cars were imported.
Imports of used cars also continue to successfully fill the new car deficit vacuum. In December, 19% more used cars were imported than in the previous month (4269 vs. 3602). The total annual growth compared to 2020 is also 20% Passenger car problems have also reached the heavy commercial vehicle segment. Although 2021 was a very successful year (93% increase), December shows a 15% drop, which is a worrying signal after 13 months of steady growth.
“2021. The year 2006 was a year full of challenges for producers, traders and buyers alike. Everyone had to adapt to the “new normal” in terms of both car supplies and climate challenges, and I think it was relatively successful. This year promises to be a breakthrough year for electric cars, which also offers many manufacturers a “restart” opportunity. It can already be seen that a significant breakthrough in this segment is being demonstrated by some manufacturers, who were by no means the favorites of the internal combustion era in recent years. This will only increase competition and make new technologies more accessible to the general public. Even so, it is important to continue and expand the green car support program launched by MEPRD, which does not necessarily mean giving money. There are enough tools that can contribute to the greening of our fleet, such as tax regulation, which has proven to be one of the most effective tools in achieving climate goals in Europe, ”comments Andris Kulbergs, President of the Auto Association.
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