Covid-19 blamed as EU car sales collapse by a record 55.1 per cent
Sales of new cars in the European Union fell by more than 50 per cent last month, in a record collapse blamed on the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Just around 567,000 new cars were registered, some 55.1 per cent fewer than in March 2019, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said Friday in a monthly bulletin.
ACEA called it a “dramatic drop … as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak,” as it noted that car dealerships in most of Europe have been closed due to “containment/lockdown measures.”
It was the biggest year-on-year monthly percentage fall on record, a spokeswoman for ACEA added. In absolute terms, it was the worst March sales figure since 1990, according to data on ACEA’s website.
Italy, the European country that first went into a coronavirus lockdown, was the worst affected, with a year-on-year fall in its market of 85.4 per cent.
Sales dropped by 72.2 per cent in France, by 69.3 per cent in Spain and by far less in Germany, with a 37.7-per-cent decrease, likely reflecting the fact that the country has been less seriously affected by the pandemic.
The March figures weighed heavily on first-quarter sales figures, which were down to 2.48 million cars, in a 25.6-per-cent drop from January-March 2019.
As sales shrank dramatically in March, Germany’s Volkswagen group consolidated its market leadership, with its share jumping to 29 per cent, from 24.2 per cent a year earlier.
France’s PSA Group saw its share drop from 17.1 per cent to 12.1 per cent, Renault’s was down from 12.5 per cent to 9.8 per cent, while Hyundai advanced from 6.2 per cent to 7.9 per cent.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which relies heavily on the Italian market, nearly halved its European market footprint from 7.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent.
Coronavirus restrictions have de facto halted car production in Europe. Some factories have been temporarily converted to manufacture medical equipment like ventilators or mask components.
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On Thursday, ACEA issued a plea for a “stronger and greener automobile industry post-crisis,” based on what it called “four key principles.”
It called for a “coordinated strategy” to safely resume production as soon as possible; market incentives; a resumption of type approval and vehicle registration procedures; and more investment on refuelling infrastructure for electric and hybrid vehicles. (dpa)
