Coronavirus impact: New car sales in Europe fall 78.3% in April

European passenger car sales slumped in April as the first full month with restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic across the continent dragged sales to a record drop, data showed on Tuesday.

In April, new car registrations dropped by 78.3% to 292,182 vehicles in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, statistics from the European Auto Industry Association (ACEA) showed.

Sales recorded a double-digit fall in all EU markets, with Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain - hit particularly hard by the pandemic - reporting the biggest drops of 97.6%, 97,3% and 96,5% respectively.

Registrations tumbled by 61.1% in Germany and 88.8% in France. Volkswagen Group's sales decreased by 75% in April, while Renault and PSA Group reported a drop of 79.5% and 82.4%, respectively.

Luxury automakers also posted a drop in April, with BMW falling 69.7% and rival Daimler slumping 80.1%. Major European car makers have started reopening plants and resuming partial production in May but low demand has pushed automakers like Volkswagen to pause production for some models.

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