According to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, 567,308 passenger cars were registered in the 27 member states of the European Union in March, 55.1 percent less than a year earlier. The annual rate of decline fell to 7.4 percent in February and 7.5 percent in January.
The rate of decline in March broke all records so far, and in absolute terms it was the worst month in March since 1990.
In the first quarter, 2,480,855 new cars were handed over to their owners in the union, 25.6 percent less than a year earlier. As part of strict measures to limit the spread of the epidemic, most car dealerships in the EU closed in the second half of March.