April

India’s car market reportedly flatlined to zero sales in April

By Katherine T. Burrows 3 months ago

In attempts to control the spread of the coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic, India has been been on lockdown since March 25 and will continue to be locked down until May 17. Like other countries in similar situations, India’s economy has been suffering clinging to life as a result. According to a The Times of India, via Car and Driver, India reported exactly zero domestic car sales for the month of April.

According sales data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Indian manufacturers sold 2,773,575 passenger vehicles in the 2019-2020 financial year, a number that was already down from previous years of 3,288,581 in 2017-2018 and 3,377,389 in 2018-2019. Now, due to the unprecedented conditions created by the global COVID-19 crisis, that number will likely severely drop once again due to a current stretch of zero car sales whatsoever.

Mahindra & Mahindra, one of the

… Read More

UK car sales in April at lowest level since 1946

By Katherine T. Burrows 3 months ago

The coronavirus pandemic devastated new car registrations in the UK last month. Only 4,321 new cars were registered in the month of April, according to data from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Tuesday — the slowest month for sales since the year after the Second World War ended.

The nationwide lockdown meant dealerships were shuttered all month and sales suffered a 97% drop from April last year, when some 160,000 new cars were sold. Demand was already diminished in March, as the pandemic gripped the UK and people faced massive job insecurity.

Of the cars sold in April, most went to companies for fleet cars, and many of those would have been ordered before the lockdown started.

READ MORE: EU factories’ record slump sparks highest lay-offs since 2009

“With the UK’s showrooms closed for the whole of April, the market’s worst performance in living memory is

… Read More