Car sales in the French market have come to a screeching halt as the country reels from the impact of the Coronavirus lockdown. March saw a steep contraction of 72 percent, but the downfall for April has been even more severe. All businesses deemed non-essential, including auto dealers, have been closed since March 17th.
Only 20,000 units were sold during the month of April, out of which 17,000 were sold by the two biggest automaker models in France, PSA and Renault.
“There were some deliveries, some car registrations, especially by Renault and PSA, for medical staff, government workers and individuals who had ordered and already paid for their cars,” Francois Roudier, spokesman for the CCFA, told AFP.
Looking ahead, “it will be the recovery plan that determines the state of the market over the year,” Roudier said. “There are a lot of unknowns.”
The unknown factors in the market include speculations over when the lockdown will be lifted and by when we can expect a full fledged return back to normalcy. Until then, consumers and buyers would have to live and bear with the reduced sales and market growth in the automotive sector.
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