The health crisis, the semiconductor crisis and today the armed conflict at the gates of the European Union continue to slow down the growth of the automotive market. “The shortage of components, the rise in raw materials or the return of inflation lead to an increasingly complex situation which results in a lot of tension, confirmed Luca de Meo, the boss of Renault, on April 12, during the presentation of the Man of the Year prize awarded to him by the automotive journal. But we are not seeing a slowdown in orders: they are currently at 400,000 vehicles. The rule is that, in car production, you have to have two months of orders in the portfolio and two months of inventory. Currently we have one month of stock and four months of orders. »
Same observation at Citroën: “The market will undoubtedly be more chaotic in 2022 than in 2021 due to supply difficulties for certain components, believes Jérôme Gautier, who runs the brand in France. But our level of orders is close to that of last year. The corporate sales segment, for example, is doing well, and our order book there is twice as large as that of 2021.” Since the start of the year, however, the fleet market has been idling. In March, registrations of passenger cars (VP) for companies even collapsed by almost 20%, while the segment represents almost a third of car sales in France, and even 39% if we add utility vehicles.
Recomposition of the park
“If the market is currently calm, it is because the semiconductor crisis, which lengthens delivery times, leads to price increases. Many companies have therefore anticipated their orders at the end of 2021”, explains Gilles Bellemère, managing director of rental company ALD Automotive.
The greening of corporate vehicle fleets also tends to slow down the pace of purchases. “The question that companies are asking is how to ensure the mobility of their employees, emphasizes Bertrand Lamarche, consulting director of Traxall, a specialist in vehicle fleet management. Since 1er January, the law on mobility (LOM) indeed requires, for a fleet of more than 100 cars, that 10% of new vehicles be low-emission, electric or hybrid. »
It is therefore time for the slow recomposition of car parks. “The electrification choices vary depending on whether it is a question of service vehicles, which will go directly to all-electric, or of company cars for which plug-in hybrids will satisfy daily use on commuting journeys. », says Cyril Châtelet, commercial and marketing director of the rental company LeasePlan.
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