Shutdowns as a result of the coronavirus pandemic caused new car sales in the UK to fall by 44% during March, according to data by SMMT. Registrations of new cars dropped at a faster rate in March than seen during the 2009 financial crisis.

According to SMMT, the dip in new car registrations was 203,370 in March 2020 vs March 2019. The latest lockdown measures because of coronavirus adds more strain to the sector which was already reeling under the effects of US-China trade tensions and Brexit related uncertainties through last year.

The SMMT has revised its outlook for this year lower and now expects new car sales in the UK to decline by 23% to 1.73 million units. In addition to a dip in consumer demand, supply chain disruptions are also likely to weigh on the automobile sector across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world this year.

New car sales in other European countries have fared worse during the month of March, with Italy, France and Spain seeing 85%, 72% and 69% lower sales respectively.