The global car market dropped by 20% due to coronavirus

The global market of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles amounted in February to 5,08 million units, which is decreased by 19.9% ​​compared to the February 2019 figure. Such data are provided in the report of the consulting company LMC Automotive. According to the results of the first two months of 2020, the global car market decreased by 14.8%.
Such a significant reduction in the market in February is explained by the consequences of the outbreak of coronavirus in China, where sales dropped by 80.4% and amounted to 282 thousand cars (the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers previously reported a decrease in sales by 81.7%, to 240 thousand cars). At the same time, in the USA, sales in February grew by 8.3% and amounted to 1,36 million cars, while in Western Europe the market shrank to 1,1 million cars (-6.5%).

Car sales in Eastern Europe in February increased by 4.5% to 304.6 thousand units, while dealers sold 218,7 thousand cars (-4.5%) in South America. A serious drop in the car market due to coronavirus occurred also in Japan and South Korea - in these two countries sales dropped to 423,5 thousand and 97 thousand cars respectively (-10.6% and -17.9%).

Apparently, due to the epidemic moving from China to Europe, the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa in the coming months, we should expect a drop in car sales in these regions as well. Thus, manufacturers in Europe are already reporting a drop in demand and are closing factories in different countries incuding South African vehicle assembly plants to combat the spread of the virus.

BMW is closing factories not only in Europe, but also the Rosslyn plant in South Africa, which is producing the X3 model for local consumption and export, in order to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus and to prevent an oversupply situation due to dropping global car sales.

Even R1-billion electronics facility of Yekani Manufacturing factory in East London also announced to be shutted down.

Looks like more manufacturing giants are to be next in this line…. And all of us have to find enough strength to face and deal with it without a panic.

Published on 18.03.2020 by NamCars.net

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