Lockdown hits as car sales plummet; VW still planning

Published on 8 April, 2020

Just 90 new cars registered.

Overview

Seldom have I seen starker new-car sales figures for the first days of a month.

Just 90 new cars registered. A 94pc dive. Used imports: registrations total 24 - a 98pc plunge.

When did we last see a fall of 98pc in car sales of any description?

Maybe the surprising thing is that there is any activity at all given the lockdown nature of the current crisis.

It is understood that one major player (Ford) has registered nearly half the new vehicles in what we can only surmise is a move linked to deals brought forward due to the crisis.

* In the meantime, motoring life, of a sort, goes on even if it is all dependent on the virus crisis ending sooner rather than later.

Volkswagen, for example, is planning to introduce GTE-badged plug-in hybrid versions of the Tiguan SUV and Arteon by the end of the year.

The latest two petrol-electric models will line up with the newly unveiled Golf GTE, the anticipated Touareg R powerhouse and the excellent Passat GTE which has been on sale for a few months here now and which, rightly, is gaining plaudits.

* Due to the current crisis, Kia says it is extending cover for vehicles that have manufacturer warranties that would normally expire between February 1 and April 30 this year.

I understand that applies to slightly more than 1,400 vehicles registered between those dates here in Ireland.

Now the warranty cover will continue until June.

That should help customers unable to visit a workshop during the pandemic.

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