Photo: Mercedes-Benz
As it was to be expected, the horrible sales figures for the month of March have been taken to a new level of desperation by the ones compiled for April, according to auto industry business intelligence company JATO Dynamics.
In Europe, the hardest hit continent by the ongoing health crisis, new car registrations in April dropped by a massive 78 percent compared to the same month in 2019. That amounts to a total of 292,600 vehicles, the lowest volume recorded since the 1970s.
Needless to say, Europe saw the sharpest decline in car sales of all continents, and it was surpassed only by India, a country which if we are to trust the data provided by JATO, literally didn't sell a single car over last year’s numbers.
“Lockdown across the globe contributed significantly to the huge drop in registrations. Not a single OEM was prepared for this scenario or expecting a crisis on such a large scale,” said in a statement Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics.
“The only silver-lining from this turbulence is that it has created an opportunity for automotive players to reassess their operations and become more agile.”
For what it’s worth, the health crisis and lockdowns have not affected people’s interest in electric cars. This segment grew to reach a market share of 17 percent even under these severe conditions.
The Mercedes-Benz EQC was particularly appealing to European buyers, growing from just 42 units sold in April 2019 to 409 last month, and so was the Audi e-tron (up from 963 to 1,307 units). The Tesla Model 3 and Renault Zoe remain favorites as well of the market, and even if sales for both dropped, they still remain at the top of the list.
JATO says the overall good performance of electric cars can largely be attributed to government incentives that are still in place in many countries.
Needless to say, Europe saw the sharpest decline in car sales of all continents, and it was surpassed only by India, a country which if we are to trust the data provided by JATO, literally didn't sell a single car over last year’s numbers.
“Lockdown across the globe contributed significantly to the huge drop in registrations. Not a single OEM was prepared for this scenario or expecting a crisis on such a large scale,” said in a statement Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics.
“The only silver-lining from this turbulence is that it has created an opportunity for automotive players to reassess their operations and become more agile.”
For what it’s worth, the health crisis and lockdowns have not affected people’s interest in electric cars. This segment grew to reach a market share of 17 percent even under these severe conditions.
The Mercedes-Benz EQC was particularly appealing to European buyers, growing from just 42 units sold in April 2019 to 409 last month, and so was the Audi e-tron (up from 963 to 1,307 units). The Tesla Model 3 and Renault Zoe remain favorites as well of the market, and even if sales for both dropped, they still remain at the top of the list.
JATO says the overall good performance of electric cars can largely be attributed to government incentives that are still in place in many countries.
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