What trends did you see in the industry when the shutdowns started?
Felipe Munoz: “Those were shocking times. We saw these effects in March when we started getting those [car] Sales information from China. In February, sales in China were down 78% [year on year] to just 200,000 units.
“With 80% of the automotive supply chain connected to China, everything that happens there will have a massive impact everywhere. But then, in April, we confirmed that this was going to be massive.
“April was the worst because the apocalypse hit. In India, for example, there were no vehicles [sold]. It was a massive thing; We had never seen these drops before.
“In the end, however, global volume was down 13%, which wasn’t as bad as we thought.”
Are people interested in buying from stock or waiting for new cars?
SR: “I don’t know if there is a trend, but there is a pent-up demand as the showrooms are open again. I think a lot of retailers have been on the ball with online sales, and in many cases it has been sped up. People were more attuned to buying online during the later lockdowns. “
WB: “There isn’t a single customer: some want to be part of a car start-up process, while others may want to go to a showroom and drive out that afternoon. An interesting fact is that our global inventory levels are at an all-time low. “
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Who was the biggest winner and who seems to be at the forefront from the data Jato sees?
FM: “The biggest winners are the Chinese OEMs. In China the market hasn’t fallen that much so they kept putting these cars on the market but thinking globally. The next step in their revolution will be global expansion. They want to go to Europe and the USA.
“The other winners were those who focused heavily on electric vehicles. Last year the [sales] The volume increased 39% which is massive given the fact [pandemic] Problems. The electric vehicles finally started in 2020, the worst year for the auto industry. “
