Europe 1 3:58 p.m., November 01, 2021

The French car market fell 30.7% year on year in October, the drop reaching 37.3% compared to October 2019 before the pandemic.

A direct consequence of the shortages of raw materials necessary for the manufacture of cars, more and more sold on a market of second hand in full change, according to the general manager of Citroën.

DECRYPTION

This is a historic figure: in one year, the number of new vehicle registrations fell by 30.7% over the month of October, with even a drop of 37.3% compared to October 2019. The finding , difficult for a sector which is struggling to get back on its feet after the Covid-19 crisis, is that of the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA).

And there are several elements to remember from this real plunge into new products, a sign of deep trends in the automotive world, explains Vincent Cobée, CEO of Citroën, on Europe 1.

The customers are still there (they are even more numerous)

The drop recorded in October is not linked to a drop in the number of customers.

On the contrary: there are more people in the concessions today than when things were going well, before the crisis.

“For the past six months, we have had a lot of customers,” explains Vincent Cobée in

La France bouge

.

"We are coming out of 18 months of worries, travel restrictions, store closures ... All these problems have mainly been resolved and there is therefore an increase in demand. We have orders in our showrooms and in our concessions. higher than what we had in 2019. "

The semiconductor shortage involved

No more customers, but similar responses in the dealership: you have to wait "three to six months" to dispose of your new vehicle, deplores Vincent Cobée, and this, on all models, which is "historic" apart from the vehicles in launch.

It is the semiconductors, all the electronic parts that allow our cars to run today, that are lacking.

We cannot produce enough because all manufacturers ask for a lot after the stop related to Covid-19.

The opportunity at the highest ...

Here too, the word "historical" is used.

We have never sold so many used cars as we have now.

The progression is currently "from 20% to 30%", supports Vincent Cobée about this market which was a little sluggish before the crisis.

The logical consequence of this growth is an increase in prices, with inflation "of more than 10% at the moment" for the models concerned, continues the leader.

... because leasing is exploding

Used vehicles are not only selling better and more expensive, they are also more and more recent.

"There is an increase in what is called leasing, with a change in ownership," notes Vincent Cobée on Europe 1. For a customer, this involves renting his car over a long period.

A practice that has grown since the 2000s: "When, ten or fifteen years ago, 80% of cars were bought in cash or with a loan, more and more, we will reach levels of 40%, 50% (on leasing) for the purchase of vehicles over a period of two, three or four years. "