Luxury Car Sales Plummet 45% in April, Signaling Auto Market Slowdown

To explain this drastic drop in sales, various arguments are put forward. According to La Vie éco, while some mention "the effect of the Auto Expo which will have boosted transactions before and during the Show", others attribute this unfavorable situation to "the month of slowdown prior to Ramadan". Others still see "a foreseeable slowdown in demand after the sales records achieved in the last three years".

At the dealerships, on the other hand, there is no need to rely on extraordinary demonstrations to best apprehend the situation. And for good reason! "The decline in sales is part of the dynamics of the automotive market, as we have seen in past years. This is not a fundamental trend, so it should be relativized," explained the boss of a large dealership, whose comments were collected by our colleagues at La Vie éco.

In this climate of poor sales, disappointments are not far away. Indeed, the same source talks about significant declines in sales, ranging from 13 to 45%. And this, points out La Vie éco, despite the developments in the luxury segment, which must be relativized, in particular "given that several operators sell small volumes, especially those present in the high-end luxury".

A classification of the leading pack shows that it is the German firm BMW that is in the lead, with a sales volume of 888 units (-13.53%). Next comes Mercedes, which rises to the same level (828 registrations down 20.23%). The Audi brand takes 4th place with 596 vehicles sold (-30.7%). Land Rover, also down 43.71%, occupies 5th place. Volvo (3.7%), Alfa Romeo (-31%), Jaguar (-6%), DS Automobiles with 70 vehicles sold, Jeep (24.82%) and Porsche (-46% compared to 2018) follow respectively.