European Automotive Industry in the Century of Asia

2.2 Foreign Trade in Motor Vehicles in the EU Manufactured vehicles constitute a significant item of foreign trade virtually worldwide. However, in 2020, imports and exports of passenger cars from non EU countries dropped significantly in value and number of passenger cars due to the ongoing pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted very negatively on international trade, disrupting communications, and affecting the distribution system. Global demand experienced a sharp decline, especially in the first half of 2020. Despite a lower comparative base and a recovery in international trade, 2021 marked a recovery for the automotive trade. In 2021, passenger cars worth EUR 126.9 billion (equivalent to 0.88% of the EU’s GDP) were exported from the EU, EUR 5.7 billion more than in the previous year (when passenger car exports accounted for 0.9% of GDP). The value of passenger cars imported in 2021 reached EUR 53.3 billion, an annual increase of 3.4%. The balance, therefore, remained positive at EUR 73.5 billion. Table 2.2: EU vehicle trade (in value; 2021) Passenger cars Other motor vehicles Motor vehicles – total EUR million Change 2021/20 EUR million Change 2021/20 EUR million Change 2021/20 Imports 53,344 3.4% 7,170 11.9% 60,514 4.3% Exports 126,854 4.7% 13,127 2.2% 139,981 4.5% Balance 73,511 5.7% 5,956 -7.5% 79,467 4.6% Share of exports in GDP 0.88% 0.09% 0.97% Source: ACEA; Eurostat The COVID-19 crisis has led to a relatively significant drop in the number of passenger cars imported into the EU between 2019 and 2020 (by approximately one third). Passenger car exports from the EU27 fell by almost 16% to 5.19 million cars over the same period. Regarding all vehicles, the exports amounted to 5.8 million cars, representing an annual decrease of 17%. The figures improved in 2021, when passenger car imports into the EU increased by 1.3% year-on-year to 3.1 million units, while motor vehicles saw a slight decrease of 4.1% to 3.6 million units. In 2021, 5.7 million motor vehicles were exported (an increase of 0.6% compared to the previous year), with 5.1 million passenger cars (a decrease of 0.5% compared to the previous year).

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