Car sales plunge in China as virus empties showrooms

Car sales in China – the world’s biggest auto market – tumbled 80% last month, as moves to contain the coronavirus outbreak emptied showrooms and wiped out sales.

The China Passenger Car Association said overall passenger car sales fell 80% year-on-year last month, the biggest monthly fall on record.

Sales have been rocked by measures introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus. Millions of people have been kept at home, travel restrictions put in place and companies have closed. Supply chains have also been heavily disrupted.

A fortnight previously, the CPCA said car sales had collapsed 92% in the first 16 days of February. Commenting on the latest update, it said: “Dealers returned to work gradually in the first three weeks of February, and their showroom traffic is very low.” It believes February’s fall will the steepest of the year.

China is a core market for global car manufacturers, who have invested heavily in the country. Last year, Germany’s Volkswagen delivered 3.2m cars to China alone. BMW, Daimler, General Motors and Nissan also count China as their most important market.

But China’s car sector has struggled in recent years, with once-booming consumer spending increasingly reigned in and confidence rocked by the US-China trade war.