New-car sales in Germany fell 61 percent to 120,840 in April as showrooms were closed because of government restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.
All brands lost volume expect Tesla, whose sales grew 10 percent to 635 vehicles. Tesla sells most of its cars online and delivers them to customers.
German brands saw new registrations drop sharply, data released on Wednesday by the KBA transport authority showed.
Opel sales fell 73 percent; Mercedes-Benz was down 71 percent; VW brand’s volume dropped 64 percent; and BMW brand was down 50 percent.
Among other brands, Hyundai’s registrations declined by 69 percent and Ford was down 62 percent.
- Download April sales by brand here
Dealerships in Germany started to reopen for car sales after April 20 after the government relaxed some restrictions on businesses.
The reopening of showrooms did not have any noticeable effect on sales, said Reinhard Zirpel, president of the VDIK importers association.
April saw “an unprecedented market collapse,” he said in a statement. Customer demand for new vehicles has almost disappeared due to uncertainty, Zirpel said.
Other top European markets had a worse April than Germany. Italian sales plunged 98 percent, UK sales slumped 97 percent and French registrations were down 72 percent.