BEIJING (Reuters) – Auto sales in China plunged 79% in February, marking their biggest ever monthly decline, with demand pummeled by the coronavirus outbreak.
Sales in the world’s biggest auto market tumbled to 310,000 vehicles from the same month a year earlier, falling for a 20th straight month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.
“China’s auto sales for February returned levels not seen since 2005,” said Chen Shihua, a senior association official.
Sales of new energy vehicles, which include battery-electric cars, contracted for an eighth month in a row.
A CAAM official told Reuters last month that sales are likely to drop by more than 10% in the first half of this year. If the outbreak is effectively contained in China before April, the decline could be around 5% for the whole year, he added.
In Hubei province where the outbreak began and which is a major car manufacturing hub responsible for nearly 10% of China’s output, Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd <0489.HK> and its partners Honda Motor <7267.T>, Renault SA
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However, after authorities in Wuhan on Wednesday lifted restrictions on a limited number of key industries in the city and allowed some people to return to work, Honda resumed limited output at a car plant in the city.
Nissan Motor <7201.T> has also said it plans to partially resume production in Xiangyang, another city in Hubei, as well as its plant in Zhengzhou, Henan.
Industry-wide auto sales fell 8.2% last year, pressured by new emission standards in a shrinking economy and trade tensions with the United States.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Edwina Gibbs)
