Pandemic destroyed a new car market

The collapse became apparent after selling for a whole month of restrictions such as April

The car market in Europe continued to decline in April, shrinking by 76,3% year on year due to quarantine measures to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. This was announced in today's report by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (EAAP - ACEA), writes the portal dir.bg.

April, the first full month with restrictions, resulted in the strongest monthly decline in car demand as such statistics persisted. As most sales centers in the EU were closed, the number of new cars sold fell from 1 in April 143 to 046 last month.

Each of the 27 EU markets fell double-digit in April, but Italy and Spain suffered the most losses, as new car registrations fell 97,6% and 96,5%, respectively. As for other major markets, demand in Germany fell by 61,1%, while in France it fell by 88,8%.

From January to April 2020, demand for new cars in the EU fell by 38,5% due to the influence of coronavirus on the results of March and April. During this period, registrations halved in three of the four key EU markets: Italy -50,7%, Spain -48,9% and France -48,0%. In Germany, demand fell by 31,0% in the first four months of 2020.

Registration of new cars fell by 55,1% in March

In Bulgaria, 824 new cars were sold in April this year compared to 3008 in April last year, a decrease of 72,6%. Data from the European Automobile Association shows that 2020 new cars were sold between January and April 6751 compared to 11 in the same period in 427 – a decrease of 2019%.

What is the situation with brands

French concerns have been hit particularly hard, with the downturn in January-April 2020 severe compared to the same period in 2019. Deliveries of the Renault group with its brands Dacia, Lada and Alpine fell by 47%. In April alone (on an annualized basis), the decline is 79%.

On PSA with brands Peugeot, Citroen, Opel/Vauxhal and DS - four-month decline was 44,4%, and in April - 81,2%.

The largest automotive group in Europe, the VW Group with the same brand, with Skoda, Audi, Seat, Porsche and other brands such as Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, fell by almost 33% (down 72,7% in April).

The decline of Daimler with Mercedes and Smart brands is 37,2% (78,8% in April). BMWBMW Group - 27,3% (in April - 65,3%).

What are the forecasts

The international rating agency Moody's has revised its forecast for the global automotive market and now expects an annual decline of 30% in Europe and 25% in the United States. The Chinese market will shrink “only” by 10%.

To increase sales, automakers and subcontractors are trying to get new government subsidies, such as