Ukraine is causing a stir in the Greek car market

You George Lampiris

Reduction of visits to car shows has been recorded recently, due to developments in Ukraine, as pointed out by sources close to the Sfakianakis group, which currently maintains the largest sales share, of 12%, in the Greek market. The reduction of visits on a case-by-case basis, during the first fortnight of March, reaches up to 30% in the stores of the group’s car brands. It should be noted that in practice, of the total number of crossings recorded during the month in the reports, approximately 20% -25% of these lead to vehicle orders.

The same sources, however, point out that at the moment the sales of commercial vehicles related to leasing or vehicle rentals do not seem to be affected (the group maintains the Enterprise rental company and the Executive Lease company).

Execution of orders in the second half of 2022 key stake for the Greek market

According to market sources, despite the fact that orders are currently being executed, these are mainly from the backlog of 2021, as the average delivery for new cars is about six months due to chip shortages in the industry. As a result, those who ordered last year receive in the first months of 2022. The issue, however, is the coverage of turnover and orders in the second half of this year, given the reduction in traffic observed in the recent market period. .

Delayed deliveries continue due to lack of microchips

At the same time, the delays in the deliveries of vehicles in our country continue, with a marginal improvement compared to 2021, as described by the same sources of the Sfakianakis group, given the already existing global shortage of chips. The same sources say that the delivery times of the orders are likely to be most likely to be further affected by the BMW cars (BMW and Mini), given that the automaker operates a cabling plant in Ukraine.

It should be noted that the wiring supplied to the car industry in the European Union comes from at least 8% from Ukraine, with car companies looking for alternative markets even before the start of the war.

Estimated delivery time per brand from the moment of order (Sfakianaki group)

– BMW and Mini: 2-5 months

– Suzuki: 5-8 months

– Renault: 3-4 months

– Nissan: 4-5 months

– Ford: 4-9 months

– Skoda: 2-4 months

13,000 fewer cars were sold in 2021 compared to 2019

It is noted that in 2021, based on the data of the Association of Car Dealers Importers, sales of new cars moved upwards, but far from the 114,109 cars, which was the number of registrations in 2019, as 13,198 fewer vehicles were sold to new owners. Specifically, in 2021 the total registrations amounted to 100,911 units, an increase of 24.6% compared to 2020 (84,977), which is logical given the shutdown for a significant period of time during the first year of the pandemic.

In the top ten of car companies with the most sales in our country, in first place is Toyota, with 13,164 vehicles in 2021, followed by Peugeot with 10,581, Hyundai with 8,809, Volkswagen with 7,464, Opel with 5,812, Citroen with 5,253, Suzuki with 4,850, Kia with 4,600 and Mercedes with 4,295 and BMW with 4,187.

As of January 2022, sales of new cars were in double digits compared to the corresponding month of 2021, at a rate of 28.9%, according to data from passenger vehicles and published by the Association of Car Dealers Importers. .

ELSTAT: Fall in the new in two months – Push from the used

However, according to ELSTAT data, sales of new vehicles were reduced by 2.5% in the two months of January-February 2022 compared to the corresponding two months of 2021. Sales of used cars in the same two months increased sharply by +42, 2%, which is also attributed to the lack of availability in new. Overall, however, sales of passenger cars, new and used, rose by 15.5% in the reporting period.

If one isolates in February 2022, one will find that sales of new passenger cars were increased by 27.8% compared to the corresponding month of 2021 and by 71.7% of those used. On the whole, new and used, they showed an upward trend by 45%. If you include all the new cars sold including passenger cars, buses and trucks, sales increased in February by 26% compared to the same month last year, according to ELSTAT data.

Disposal of used ones with obstacles

The availability of used cars remains problematic in any case, as it is directly affected by the availability of new ones. It is characteristic that the picture of shortages in the used ones remains unchanged, as there are many who choose not to sell their old car, as they will not be able to easily find one to buy a new one in a reasonable time. At the same time, the prices of used cars remain high due to the lack of new ones and the demand for used cars as a direct purchase solution, in the face of significant delays in new ones.