How Covid-19 killed the car industry as we knew it

No industry has been left unscathed as coronavirus swept through the UK.

But the automotive industry in particular is facing extremely difficult times, and it’s not just because of the virus.

Britain’s new car sales are at their lowest since 1946.

Back then, the country was only just starting to rebuild its economy from the damage caused by the Second World War and you had to prove a genuine need for a car before being allowed to purchase one.

And 76 years later, sales plummeted to similar levels – strict lockdown measures forced all non-essential retailers to close, including car dealerships, and people’s reduced spending power will affect sales even after lockdown.

This would be severely damaging to the car industry at any time but it comes at a particularly awkward moment, as Brexit looms.

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In This Story: COVID-19

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The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

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During the 2020 Covid-19 epidemic, lockdown has come to mean the practice of attempting to control transmission of the virus by means of restricting people’s movement and activities on a broad scale, usually on a national or state-wide basis.

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