This article is transferred from Gasgoo. According to foreign media reports, on May 10, the Federation of Indian Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) stated that compared with the first wave of the new crown epidemic last year, the epidemic in India this year has begun to spread to small towns and villages, which makes car sales will require It will take longer to recover.

　　In the second half of last year, car sales in India (especially sales of cars and SUVs) rebounded strongly as consumers chose to buy private cars to avoid public transportation, thereby ensuring social distancing and ensuring safety.

　　FADA said that as the second wave of the epidemic began to spread from severely affected cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai to rural areas, the number of single-day cases of new coronary pneumonia in India was close to the highest level in history. India has a population of 1.3 billion, of which the rural population accounts for nearly 70%, but public medical services are limited. The agency expects that the recovery of car sales this year will take longer, and it is expected that the country's car sales will not return to the peak level in March 2019 until the 2023 fiscal year (about two years later).

　　In the past month, many states in India have implemented strict lockdown measures. Other states have also restricted the movement of people and closed movie theaters, restaurants, bars and shopping centers. FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said, “India is currently facing one of the most difficult times. The second wave of COVID-19 has caused severe damage to everyone’s lives.”

　　(Image source: Maruti Suzuki official website)

　　FADA revealed that in April, the number of new car registrations in India (including cars, SUVs, motorcycles and trucks) dropped by 28% from March. The agency also predicts that new car sales will continue to be sluggish in May, as the lockdown measures in some states will continue until the end of May.

　　According to FADA data, in the first nine days of May, consumers’ car buying sentiment was “extremely weak” because most parts of the country were under partial or complete lockdown during this period. Even in the normally open car dealerships, the number of customers has dropped to 30% of the normal level, and many consumers have postponed their car purchases.

　　Due to the worsening of the epidemic, most automakers, including India’s best-selling car company Maruti Suzuki and India’s largest motorcycle manufacturer Hero MotoCorp, have extended their factory closures to May 16.