The corona crisis is causing a huge decrease in car sales. This is of course largely due to the lockdown, but it seems that it will also cause a contraction in the longer term. In the Netherlands, some of the potential customers seem to be dropping out for the time being.
Of course, it was to be expected that sales of new and used cars would decrease drastically due to the current situation with the corona virus. In various countries, people have recently been allowed to go outside only for essentials and that does not include a visit to the car dealer. Even under smoother conditions, such as here in the Netherlands, many people skip this for the time being. We notice that in the figures, because no fewer than 53 percent fewer new cars were sold here last month than in April last year.
The cautious hope is that the situation will ease somewhat in the coming months and that could of course lead to a revival in car sales. Bovag had investigated how people who planned to buy a car now look at it. As it turns out, 60 percent were not discouraged at all and simply decided to continue purchasing plans during this period. 20 percent have decided to wait a little longer, but for the time being they still plan to continue the purchase. But then the most worrying statistic for the industry: 15 percent of the respondents say they have decided to completely abandon the purchase of a car.
30 percent of the respondents indicate that concerns about their own financial situation play a role. In some cases this therefore leads to a postponement or cancellation of the purchase of a car. There also appears to be a shift in plans: 6 percent of people who initially looked at a new car are now looking at a used car.