Retail sales of new passenger vehicles in China will drop 32 percent to 1.1 million in April as coronavirus outbreaks disrupt vehicle production and shipments in multiple regions, the China Automobile Dealers Association predicted this week.
Virus outbreaks in eastern and northeast China, key hubs for auto parts and vehicle assembly, remained severe throughout the month, forcing many workers to isolate at home as government authorities implemented lockdown measures, the trade group said.
Parts supply shortages have also led automakers to suspend vehicle production in central China and south China, the trade group added.
According to CADA’s tally, daily retail sales of passenger vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles across China plunged 39 percent to 26,700 in the second week of April, after falling 32 percent to 24,600 in the first week.
In mid-April, automakers in Shanghai and the northeast city of Changchun were allowed by local governments to resume production and shipments despite lingering virus outbreaks.
As a result, the decline in vehicle sales showed signs of slowing.
In the fourth week of April, CADA expected daily retail sales of passenger vehicles to drop 26 percent to 69,000 after slumping 35 percent to 36,000 in the third week.
While Shanghai has largely maintained a citywide lockdown, which began in late March, an increasing number of other major Chinese cities have resorted to partial lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
That will make it hard for the new-vehicle market to quickly recover.
“Residents' income and consumer confidence in the locked-down areas have also been hit to a certain extent, further dampening the recovery of the auto market,” CADA noted.
