European car sales fall for seventh consecutive month on chip shortage

Shoppers looking to buy new cars have been forced to wait for weeks or months, and the prices of used cars have surged.

European car sales declined for a seventh consecutive month in January as an ongoing semiconductor shortage continued to hold back production.

New-car registrations in Europe fell 2.4% to 822,423 in January compared to last year, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said. The drop prolongs the industry’s worst stretch since the association started tracking the market in the early 1990s.