New passenger car sales in France climbed 4.95pc to 132,637 units in February compared with 126,380 units the prior month, according to the latest data published by Comité des Constructeurs Français d’Automobiles (CCFA) on March 1.
That said, new vehicle registrations were 20.95pc below pre-COVID-19 levels of 167,782 units in February 2020, as national evening curfews between 6pm and 6am have been in effect since January 16, 2021.
Government subsidies of €1,000 for the purchase of used electric vehicles and the extension of existing incentives, where buyers decommission an old combustion vehicle by purchasing a new or used electric or hybrid models, to June 2021 have partially supported new car sales.
While these measures will no doubt incentivize new and used car sales in the short term, overall economic uncertainty and employment stability will likely continue to constrict registrations until a healthier real economy improves consumer confidence.
As a result, Davis Index estimates this will undermine domestic steel consumption and ferrous scrap generation in the short- to medium-term. Moreover, a global shortage of semiconductor chips has also begun to bite vehicle production rates.