Sales continued to slump in March at two major Chinese automakers, Geely Automobile Holdings and BYD Co., with vehicle demand subdued by the lingering coronavirus outbreak.
Deliveries at Geely, the largest domestic Chinese carmaker, fell 41 percent to 73,021 last month, the company said.
Crossovers, sedans and multipurpose vehicles accounted for 66 percent (48,414), 32 percent (23,593) and 1.4 percent (1,014) of Geely’s March sales, respectively, the company reported.
Geely’s first-quarter deliveries totaled 206,027, a decline of 44 percent from the same period last year.
Despite the huge impact from the viral outbreak, Geely is targeting sales to increase 3.5 percent to 1.41 million in 2020, CEO An Conghui said in late March when the company released 2019 financial results.
March sales at BYD, China’s largest electrified-vehicle maker, dropped 35 percent to 30,599 last month. The tally includes 12,256 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, as well as 18,343 gasoline-powered vehicles.
Through March, BYD’s deliveries nosedived 48 percent to 61,273, comprised of 22,192 EVs and plug-in hybrids and 39,081 gasoline-powered vehicles.