AKIPRESS.COM - European car sales tanked last month amid strict lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus that shut down dealerships for at least half of March and dried up consumer spending, AP reports.

The European carmaker’s association, ACEA, said Friday that new car registrations ’’recorded a dramatic drop” of 55% to 567,308 units.

The drop is worse even than during the 2008-9 global financial crisis, which triggered a six-year slump in car purchases. The steepest losses during that financial crisis occurred in January 2009, when sales fell 27%.

During the coronavirus emergency, European consumers are facing economic uncertainty due to the public health crisis that has triggered a dramatic decrease in national wealth, industrial production and commerce deemed non-essential. All that is having a knock-on effect on employment and salaries, even with short-term unemployment schemes being activated in most countries.