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Hopes of a strong rebound in the French auto market have been dashed amid the global shortage of semiconductor chips and rising coronavirus infections, the French Association of Automobile Manufacturers CCFA-PFA said on Sunday.
The lobbying body expected car sales to increase by as much as 10%, but those projections could be relaxed, according to a CCFA spokesperson.
“We think it might be difficult to achieve 1.8 million sales this year”, the spokesman said, as quoted by Reuters.
In 2020, registrations of new French passenger cars fell to 1.65 million against some 2.21 million the previous year. The drastic drop is attributed to the pandemic, which has crippled auto factories.
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In July alone, new car registrations were down almost 35% from the same period a year ago, data from data released by the CCFA-PFA shows. New passenger car registrations would have amounted to 115,713.
The French automotive market is up some 16% over the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2020 hit by the pandemic, according to the association.
The global shortage of semiconductor chips, as well as the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, are having significant negative impacts, affecting most automakers, including French automaker Renault and its big Franco-Italian rival Stellantis.
Semiconductor chips are essential parts of new automobiles, which are widely used for infotainment systems, as well as basic mechanisms, such as power steering and brakes. The average vehicle can contain hundreds of these chips.
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