March sales plummet by corona

It may be trivial compared to many other consequences of corona, but car sales are also infected with the virus. It is now quieter in the Dutch dealer showrooms than in a Benedictine monastery.

First of all, what we refer to as sales figures in this section and ‘popularly’ are in reality license plate registrations. In other words, there is a certain delay – usually a few weeks – compared to the actual purchase date. Therefore, two weeks ago we could not notice much of the corona crisis in the statistics, but now the virus has hit in full force. During the month ended yesterday, 29,496 new cars were registered in our country, which is 23.4 percent less than the same month last year, according to the figures from Bovag and RAI Association.

According to industry organization Bovag, the decrease is now mainly due to the absence of the traditional peak dealer registrations at the end of the quarter and the direct effect of corona on consumer behavior will only become clear in the months that follow.

If we look at the registrations for the whole of 2020 so far, so the first three months, we see a minus of 10.6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. Looking at that first quarter, Volkswagen is brand number 1 in our country and the Polo is the best-selling model. For the monthly figures, see below.

We will add the top 10 electric cars to this article later today.

Models top ten March

Brands top ten March