Car market, Covid-19, Latvia, Legislation, Transport

In April, 841 new automobiles were registered in Latvia, a decrease of 55.2% on April 2019. New passenger car registrations fell 58.5% to 683 units, while new light commercial vehicle registrations decreased 32.5% to 158 vehicles, which though is 13 vehicles more this pasts March.'

The Automotive Association's President Andris Kulbergs expects that new automobile registrations will further decrease by 70% to 80% in May and June. "May and June will be critical for the industry," he added. "The number of customers in dealerships has fallen by as much as 80%. The only segment where customer activity remains higher is commercial vehicles, where a drop of 32% has been recorded as there are certain industries where activity and demand have even increased, such as food, medicine, online stores, household goods," said the association.

The association also points out that the number of car registrations in the entire European Union decreased by 27% in the first quarter of the year, and a more drastic decline -is expected in the second quarter.

"The 23 members of the Automotive Association with 40 car dealerships in Latvia pay EUR 210 million in taxes annually, which is a significant amount of money, therefore the government should provide support for members of the association. Now is the right time to introduce the Automotive Association's industry support strategy in order to stimulate the automotive market and not lose budget revenue in the amount of EUR 107 million this year," said Kulbergs.