In March, 55.1 percent fewer cars were sold in Europe than in the same period a year earlier. The European trade association ACEA announced this on Friday. In the first quarter of this year, a decline of more than 25 percent was measured.
In the first quarter, 567,308 new passenger cars were registered in Europe. Last year there were still more than 1.64 million. According to the trade association, a drop in sales was already in line with expectations. In the second half of March, the majority of car dealers in the European Union were forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The largest decline in sales was recorded in Italy. There, a decrease of more than 86 percent to 28,326 cars was noted. Italy is closely followed by France, where a 72 percent drop was measured. In the Netherlands, 23.4 percent fewer cars (29,496 in total) were registered in the past month compared to the same month last year.