No cars sold in India: car sales plunge globally

Tuesday, 5 May 2020

As restrictions lifted, social distancing measures enforced as masks preferred as way to try and limit more outbreaks.

While the latest sales numbers show that New Zealand new car sales slumped a drastic, but not unexpected 90 per cent for April, the coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on new car sales around the world as well.

Again, this isn’t unexpected, as even if dealerships were open, most carmakers closed factories, so supply is almost non-existent at this time.

But even with our massive 90 per cent drop New Zealand’s new car sales weren’t the worst affected around the globe, with Italy and South Africa experiencing a 98 per cent drop, while preliminary reports out of India show that precisely zero new cars were delivered there in April.

Not unexpectedly, new car sales have slowed to a crawl around the world.

Automotive News Europe reported that sales in Italy are estimated to have plummeted to just 2,182 registrations, down from 107,930 for the same month last year.

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Indian carmakers like Mahindra were ordered to close by the government, selling not cars whatsoever in April.

* NZ new car sales plummet by 90 per cent

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Car sales in the USA have suffered far less than in most of the world.

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India is currently under some of the most restrictive lockdown measures in the world, with news agency Bloomberg reporting that the biggest car companies in India - Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Hyundai - couldn’t ship a single vehicle in April as factories and dealerships were ordered to close by the government.

Automotive News Europe said that the Italian figures “give an early look of what the rest of Europe can expect under lockdowns meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.”

Because Italy was hit hard early in the spread of the coronavirus, showrooms were closed starting in early March - which had already seen a decline of 85 per cent because most buyers who had ordered cars earlier were not able to take delivery.

Other countries have fared slightly better, with France showing an 89 per cent drop, although it had already suffered a 72 per cent drop in March, while the USA appears to be doing better than most other major markets, largely due to its inconsistent approach to a lockdown that has seen some states forcing dealerships to close while other states have allowed them to remain open.

The majority of US car companies didn’t post sales results for April, but industry estimates suggest the market slowed by between 40 and 60 per cent there, following an 80 per cent decline in March.

“One positive trend,” Automotive News USA reported, “outlined by JD Power, which had initially expected an 80 per cent decline in April, showed a rebound in retail sales over the course of the month”.

Over in Australia, the predictions of the slowdown in April vary wildly, with official numbers yet to be released.

While some industry experts were forecasting the April slowdown to be between just 40 and 60 per cent, Car Advice is reporting that preliminary April sales figures shared by most Top 15 car companies showed “most brands were down by between 55 and 75 per cent compared to the same month last year.”

Car Advice also says that while industry experts in the US and Europe are reporting that the worst of the rapid sales declines may be over, there are now concerns about being able to keep up with demand in May after factory shutdowns slowed the supply of new vehicles to sell.