March 14, 2022

Exco automotive newsletter

The car market in January 2022

Passenger car distribution

Sales of new vehicles fell by 17.9% in January 2022 compared with 2021.
In that month, 47.2% of new sales were to private customers.

The second-hand market is suffering from a shortage of certain vehicles.
Second-hand transactions are down 9.4% in January 2022 compared with 2021.

Vehicle distribution to companies

January 2022 sales to companies and long-term leasers are down 5.4% on 2021.
They represent 30.7% of new registrations.

The industrial vehicle market

A new-build market on the rise but penalized

New industrial vehicle registrations are up by almost 6% over 2021, but are still severely penalized by supply delays.

A fast-growing second-hand market

As with passenger cars and commercial vehicles, demand for used industrial vehicles is expected to grow strongly in 2021.
Tractor transactions are up by 18% and rigids by 11% on 2020(1).
Industry professionals explain these good figures mainly by the lack of availability of new vehicles.

As in the entire mobility sector, inventories are historically low. Once again, this trend is unlikely to improve before 2023.

(1) Source: Industrial Vehicle Observatory

Significant growth in the automotive repair market by 2021

The French automotive repair market grew by 12.9% in 2021 compared with 2020 (a year marked by two periods of confinement).
It remains 8% down on 2019.

Key figures

At January 1, 2021

Source: Data from Statistical Studies

Passenger cars: 38,300,000
Light commercial vehicles (LCVs): 5,900,000
Heavy goods vehicles: 600,000
Buses and coaches: 94,000
Average fleet age: 10.6 years (9 years in 2017)

Industry figures for France

(in 2018, source CCFA)

Jobs in the automotive industry: 2,200,000 people (8% of the working population)
Of which automotive production jobs: 498,000
Including jobs in automobile distribution: 410,000 in 141,900 companies

Company car market to decline in 2021

In 2021, the corporate fleet market is still in decline. This is due to component shortages and the fact that sales of new vehicles are limited to private individuals and craftsmen, to the detriment of companies and leasing companies.

The ARVAL MOBILITY observatory reports 805,941 registrations of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with companies, public authorities and long-term leasing companies, down 10.9% on two years ago.

The market share of electrified vehicles (100% electric and hybrid) will reach 22.45% in 2021. Hybrid models in particular are making the most headway.

Taxation of hybrid vehicles

Plug-in hybrid gasoline vehicles are exempt from the first component of the annual company vehicle tax if their CO2 emissions are below 60 g/km.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles leased or acquired between January 1 and December 31, 2022 benefit from non-deductible depreciation of :

20,300 if the emission rate is greater than or equal to 20 grams and less than 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The battery is also deductible from the tax base, as for an electric car.
18,300 if the emission rate is greater than or equal to 50 grams and less than or equal to 160 g/km for cars purchased from January 1, 2022.
9,900 if the emission rate is greater than or equal to 160 g/km for cars purchased from January 1, 2022.