As the country has become the world’s largest auto market, sales of new vehicles fell 10.5% in March compared to last year.
Lockdowns in Shanghai and several parts of northeastern China, ordered following a rebound in the Covid epidemic, will seriously affect supply chains, Chinese car manufacturers and suppliers fear.
If no improvement is seen quickly, “all Chinese equipment manufacturers will have to stop production in May”, said He Xiaopeng, the boss of the Chinese electric car manufacturer XPeng. XPeng is one of the competitors in China of the American Tesla, which itself suspended for more than two weeks the activity of its gigantic factory in Shanghai.
SEE ALSO – Covid-19: In China, the Chinese authorities declare that the situation is “serious”
Read alsoCovid 19: China records a peak in contamination
As the country has become the world’s largest auto market, sales of new vehicles fell 10.5% in March compared to last year. The world’s second-largest automaker, Volkswagen, said on Thursday that the shutdown had a “serious impact” on its activity in China, where the group has joint ventures in Changchun (North-East) and Shanghai. Due to travel restrictions, the German car giant says “temporarily unable to meet high demand” in the Chinese market. Volkswagen Group sales in China fell 37% in March, and 24% in the first quarter.
Read alsoThe fear of the Covid in China weighs on the world activity
The consequences of this new wave of Covid will not be limited to the Chinese market alone. Shanghai has one of the most important ports in the world. The confinement of the metropolis leads to many logistical delays, which risk having consequences for the European and American economies.
SEE ALSO – China in the dead end of the zero Covid strategy