Serbian auto market in 2020 falls by 23.3% as the pandemic and lockdowns affect sales. Full-Year sales have been 26.241, while Renault is the only brand in the leaderboard to report growth by rising 16.2%.
Economic Environment
The economy should have shrunk at a softer pace in the third quarter amid the reopening of economies. Industrial production swung from a notable contraction in the second quarter to a solid expansion in the third. Moreover, retail sales grew at a solid pace in July–September, contrasting Q2’s drop.
On the external front, merchandise exports continued to contract in the first two months of Q3, although at a noticeably softer pace compared to Q2. Similarly, the drop in tourist arrivals in July–August was less severe than the fall seen in the prior quarter.
Meanwhile, a new government was installed on 29 October, but President Aleksandar Vucic stated in mid-October that a snap election would be held by 3 April 2022 at the latest. The new government will work towards EU membership while strengthening the health care system and the economy in the wake of Covid-19.
Market Trend
The Serbian car market has been hit in 2020 by the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted sales significantly.
The market in recent years has been recovering after the huge fall reported in the 2009-2014 crisis. Light vehicle sales grew up from 19.698 in 2014 to 29.010 in 2017. In 2018, the market kept growing, ending with 29.721 sales (+2.4%). In 2019, the market signed the 5th consecutive year of gain by selling 34.197 units, surging 15.1% from the previous year.
After growing for 5 years in a row, Full-Year sales for 2020 have been 26.241, reporting a 23.3% decrease compared to 2019.
Brand-wise, this year the leader Skoda (-30.7%) lost 1.6% market share, followed by Fiat (-33.9%), which reported the worst performance in the leaderboard and lost 2.2% share. Renault -up 1 spot- gained 3.4% share, rising 16.2% and reporting the best performance. Volkswagen fell in 4th place and reported a loss of 29.1%, followed by Dacia which lost 27%.
Toyota -up 1 spot- lost 16.9%, overtaking Opel (-27.3%) and followed by Hyundai which lost 23.4%. Closing the leaderboard we have Mercedes entering the leaderboard by losing 10.6% and on the other hand Citroen losing 26.8%.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for all Brands and top 10 Manufacturers Group.
