Europe´s auto market suffered a record plunge in April according to sector data released on Tuesday, and is unlikely to make up the loss this year, an analyst said.
The numbers for April represented the first full month that restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19 were in place, and “the strongest monthly drop since records began,” an ACEA statement said.
New car registrations in the 27 European Union markets fell by 76.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, data published by the European Automobile Manufacturer´s Association showed.
In all, 270,682 new registrations were recorded, compared with 1.14 million in April 2019.
Outside the EU, British car sales plunged by 97.3 percent.
“In Europe, we might see a market drop of 22 percent this year” compared with 2019,
A breakdown of the ACEA data showed that in terms of manufacturers, the FCA group which includes Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, and Alfa Romeo suffered the most, with sales that were 87.7 percent lower in April at 10,419 vehicles.
