Car market, Covid-19, Latvia, Transport

Registration of new passenger cars dropped 26.5% on year to 11,520 vehicles and registration of new commercial cars declined 20.9% to 1,778 vehicles. 

The fastest annual drop in new car registration was recorded in April (-55.2%) and May (54.4%). In February, the reduction was 0.1%. 

In October 2020, new car registration reduced 28% from the same period a year ago to 1,300 vehicles, as registration of new passenger cars contracted 29.3% to 1,110 and registration of new commercial cars dropped 19.1% to 190 vehicles. 

"The new car market is among the first to reflect trends in the national economy. After the ostensible recovery we saw in summer, in October the market fell 28% from October 2019," representatives of the Auto Association said, adding that in September the annual drop was 7.5%.

The first November data shows that demand has practically disappeared, causing concerns that in November the slump might be as deep as in the spring when transactions fell 55%.