French Car Sales Keep Sliding as Ukraine War Hurts Supply Chains
(Bloomberg) --
French car sales slumped again in April as European manufacturers' supply chains are hit by the fallout from the war in Ukraine.
France's new passenger car registrations dropped 23% from a year earlier to 108,723, the PFA auto association said in a statement on Sunday. The market for light trucks took an even bigger hit, sliding by 32%.
The supply-chain disruptions caused by the Ukraine war are eroding European car manufacturers' hopes for a recovery from last year, when a shortage in semiconductors idled plants. Passenger car registrations in Europe slumped 19% in March, a ninth straight monthly decline. Volkswagen AG recently warned of more supply pain and unpredictable commodity price swings amid mounting pressure on major metals producer Russia.
For carmakers, Russia's invasion of its neighbor has disrupted local suppliers of wire harnesses, forcing Volkswagen and BMW AG to temporarily halt production. Expectations of improvements in semiconductor availability are also waning as bottlenecks are now seen reaching well into next year.
Siemens Energy AG said supply-chain disruptions were weighing on its revenue and profitability, while BMW in March cut expected returns from automaking because of fallout from the invasion.Â
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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