China’s auto sales sank 48.4 percent in March from a year ago as the economy reeled from the coronavirus, according to an industry group, adding to strains for the struggling industry in its biggest global market. Sales of SUVs, sedans and minivans totaled just over 1 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, declined 43.3 percent to 1.4 million. The decline was an improvement over February’s record-setting 81.7 percent sales plunge after auto dealerships and other businesses were shut down to fight the try to stop the virus’s spread. For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page. The ruling Communist Party started reopening factories, restaurants and stores in March after declaring victory over the outbreak. But consumers who are uneasy about potential job losses or a resurgence of the virus are reluctant to make big purchases. “On the consumer side, since the epidemic has not completely ended, some market demand is still being suppressed,” the CAAM said in a statement Friday. Auto sales in the first three months of 2020 were down 45.4 percent at 2.9 million. Read more: Coronavirus: US approves $168 bln of small business loans Demand already was weak due to consumer jitters about a tariff war with Washington, slower economic growth and possible job losses. Sales fell 9.6 percent last year, their second straight annual decline. The downturn is a blow to global automakers that are counting on China to drive revenue growth amid weak demand in the United States and Europe. Forecasters say it will be weeks or months before production returns to normal. Automakers say the pace depends on how fast suppliers can resume delivering components. The downturn is squeezing global and Chinese brands that are investing billions of dollars to develop electric vehicles under pressure to meet government sales targets. Read more: Coronavirus: Mainland China sees rise in new cases in travelers, asymptomatic people Sales of electric and gasoline-electric hybrid SUVs and sedans fell 53.2 percent from a year earlier in March to 53,000, according to CAAM. That was an improvement over February’s 75.2 percent decline. EV sales for the first three months of the year were off 56.4 percent at 114,000. China is the biggest market for electrics, accounting for about half of last year’s global sales. Read more: China’s Wuhan to keep testing residents for coronavirus as lockdown eases EV demand sank in mid-2019 when Beijing ended multibillion-dollar subsidies to producers and buyers and shifted the burden to the industry by requiring automakers to make a portion of their sales electric. اي استفسار أو طلب خاص بخصوص التوظيف يمكنك التواصل مع الابميل التالي – مجير الموقع : alturky28@gmail.com لطلبات التصميم او البرمجة التواصل مع : hamzalaabar@gmail.com