BERLIN (Reuters) - 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 (DE:VOWG_p) sales decreased by 75% in April, while Renault (PA:RENA) and PSA Group (PA:PEUP) reported a drop of 79.5% and 82.4%, respectively.
Luxury automakers also posted a drop in April, with BMW (DE:BMWG) falling 69.7% and rival Daimler (DE:DAIGn) 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.