RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the month in which virtually all automakers suspended activities due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, vehicle production fell 99.3 percent in April compared to the same month last year, reported the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA) on Friday, May 8th. Compared to March, there was a 99 percent drop.
In April, plants produced 1,800 units, the lowest result for a month since 1957, when ANFAVEA began keeping production records.
“Even in times of strike, we had never faced such a low production level in the country,” the association’s president, Luiz Carlos Moraes, said at an online press conference.
In the year-to-date, production reaches 587,700 vehicles, a sum that considers the automobile, light commercial, truck, and bus segments. The result represents a 39.1 percent drop compared to the first four months of last year.
The sale of new vehicles, on the other hand, reached 55,700 units, a 76 percent drop compared to April last year and 65.9 percent compared to April. In the year-to-date, there were 613,800 registrations, a 26.9 percent drop compared to the same period last year.
ANFAVEA also reported that the plants and dealerships had 237,300 vehicles in inventory in late April, down from 266,600 in late March. Considering the pace of sales in April, the most recent numbers show there is enough inventory to cover sales for 128 days.
Source: Estadão Conteúdo