The effects of the coronavirus crisis, which promise to be violent, will hit a European car market already in bad shape.
In February, the four main markets in Europe were shown in the red: Germany (-10.8%), Italy (-8.8%), Spain (-6%) and France (-2.7%). In total, with 957,000 new passenger cars put on the roads of the European Union in February, the market contracted by 7.4% compared to the same month of the previous year.
According to European manufacturers (ACEA), the market suffered the backlash of registrations which were anticipated late last year. On the one hand, to sell polluting vehicles before the entry into force of binding European CO2 ceilings for manufacturers. On the other hand, purchases had also been made in advance to dodge an increase in car taxation in several countries - including France - from January 1.
In this context, it was the French manufacturers who were heavily affected. As in January, the Renault group (with Alpine, Dacia, Lada) did almost half as well as the average with deliveries down 14.3%. Its French rival PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Vauxhall) posted a drop of 8.9%. Conversely, three manufacturers were particularly successful in winning the game. The Korean Hyundai (with Kia) rose 1.1%. The BMW group (with Mini) did even better (+ 3.1%). But it was Toyota (with Lexus) that shone the most (+ 11.5%) taking advantage, as in previous months, of a craze for its hybrid engines (petrol and electric).
The hardest part is yet to come
According to ACEA, all the major European markets are now paralyzed and the main manufacturing sites have been shut down or are on the verge of being indefinite. In similar circumstances, the Chinese market fell nearly 80% in February.
"The amplification of the epidemic [...] will weigh very heavily on production and the automotive market, warned the Automobile Platform (PFA) which brings together the main companies in the sector in France, calling to" anticipate, now, a recovery plan for emerging from the crisis. "
This is particularly the case for Renault, which has seen its stock market title lose almost 64% since the start of the year, including 23% just last week. On Tuesday, the company that sold 3.7 million cars last year, was only worth 4.5 billion euros with cash that could be lacking even if, in 2019, the manufacturer still had '' a reserve of 153 million euros.
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Tuesday morning, Bruno Le Maire said he was ready to use "all means" to "protect" French companies. “This can go through capitalization or an equity investment. I can even use the term nationalization if necessary, ”he said.
