The global automotive industry took a big hit from the COVID-19 crisis, but some markets have been showing signs of recovery as of late. China, for one, has seen its sales figure improve over the last month.
According to a Reuters report, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced that two million vehicles were sold in the People’s Republic in April. This represents a 0.9% year-on-year increase versus April 2019 sales, and a 39.8% increase from March 2020. Two carmakers in particular reported year-on-year sales growth for the month: Geely Automobile Holdings and Ford Motor Company.
Breaking down the numbers, 105,468 Geely vehicles were purchased in April, which was a 2% increase from April 2019 and 44% from March 2020. The carmaker sold a total of 43,067 sedans, 61,179 SUVs, and 1,222 MPVs.
On the other hand, a separate report says that Ford sold 20,465 vehicles in April, which was a significant 38.3% jump from the corresponding 2019 figure.
This gain would be the market’s first after seeing a decline for 21 months straight. CAAM, however, still expects that the overall figure for January to April to fall by a significant 32.1%. The association is set to announce the final numbers on May 11.
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