Coronavirus Crisis Slams Europe's New Passenger Car Sales By 74% YTD

Drop was recorded in the 27 European member states alongside the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland

Special report by Justinas Baltrusaitis, LearnBonds.com

LONDON - May 20, 2020: In April, the units stood at 292,180, a drop of 65.75% from March’s 853,080 sold cars. In general, sales have been declining since the start of the year. From November 2019, the highest car sales were in December with the figure at 1,261,740 units and an increase of 4.2% from November’s 1,210,860.

The drop in car sales is mainly due to the Coronavirus pandemic that led to travel restrictions and lockdowns within major European countries. The Learbonds.com research reports note that:

“The drop in car sales might impact some European economies that heavily rely on car manufacturing. For example, Germany’s strong economic position relies on vehicle exports, and car dealerships. As countries worked on their reopening plans the car manufacturing sector was given a priority. In Germany, the car manufacturing sector was among the first to be reopened but with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place."

In regards to new passenger car registrations by manufacturers based on year-over-year from January to April 2020 compared to a similar period last year the average was -39.73%. Mazda had the highest change at -53% followed by Honda at -50.6% while the FCA group had the third-highest change at -48%. Toyota Group had the least change at -24.8% BMW Group at -29.6% while Volvo had a change of -31%.

In total, 15 car manufacturers sold 3,240,028 car units in Europe between January and April this year. Last year during the first four months, the same manufacturers sold a total of 5,328,964 units, representing a percentage change of -39.19%. VW Group still holds the top spot after selling 884,761 compared to last year’s 1,330,045 units. The PSA Group had the second-highest car sales at 492,144 this year, which dropped from 2019’s 908,420.

The full story, statistics and information can be found here: https://learnbonds.com/news/europes-new-passenger-car-sales-drop-by-74-ytd-amid-coronavirus-crisis/