The sector recorded 171,089 passenger car registrations in June, down 14.24% year on year with one less day of activity.

"The same effects produce the same consequences. (...) We are still on this problem of supply linked to the shortage of semiconductors", sighed François Roudier of the Automotive Platform - which brings together manufacturers -, questioned by the AFP.

It should sell 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles in a normal June, he noted.

Since spring 2021, the automotive market has been severely hampered in Europe and America by a series of logistical problems, including a shortage of semiconductors.

These electronic chips, mainly manufactured in Asia, are essential for the manufacture of telephones and laptops, but also cars which carry ever more technology.

Over the first six months of 2022, the French market fell by 16.34% over one year with 771,982 registrations.

The decline over the semester is nearly 34% compared to the first six months of 2019, "which was rather a good year", noted Mr. Roudier.

"We are really in a heavy crisis."

"Brand by brand, we see that some had semiconductors and were able to produce their models and others not", some factories having closed downright, he noted.

The leader Stellantis – with 32.5% of the French market – is down 21.09% over the half-year, with in particular a sharp decline in Citroën and Peugeot.

Renault limited its fall to 10.75% over six months, but is up 4.09% in June.

Lower in the ranking, sales of the Volkswagen group fell by 25.59% over the half-year and those of Toyota by 19.82% and those of BMW by 12.27%.

Tesla also recorded a sharp decline in its deliveries in June (-39.80% and -10.46% over six months), linked to the rebound in the Covid-19 epidemic in China where part of its vehicles are manufactured.

Diesel and gasoline accounted for 54.3% of passenger car sales in France in the first half of 2022, compared to 65.3% a year earlier.

The second-hand market also fell by 17.9% in June for the seventh consecutive month with 453,583 transactions, a drop of 12.4% over the half-year, according to the firm AAA Data.

© 2022 AFP