China's Auto and Aviation Markets Hit Hard by COVID-19... Sharp Contraction in February

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The automotive and aviation sectors, which form massive markets in China, have been severely contracted due to the spread of COVID-19.

On the 12th (local time), the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced that automobile sales in China for February amounted to 310,000 units, a sharp decline of 79% compared to the previous year. This is the largest decrease on record. Sales of new energy vehicles, including electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, also dropped by 75% to 12,908 units. The cumulative total automobile sales for January and February were 2.238 million units, down 42% from the same period last year.

Although China forms the world's largest automobile market, a combination of factors such as ongoing economic growth slowdown, reduction of subsidies for purchasing new energy vehicles, and weakened consumer sentiment due to the spread of COVID-19 are analyzed to have caused the sharp decline in automobile sales.

The Automobile Manufacturers Association urgently requested the government on the same day to extend the subsidy policy for new energy vehicles and to abolish the restrictions on issuing new license plates that are currently enforced in many regions.

The Chinese aviation industry, which forms a huge aviation market driven by travel demand from a population of 1.4 billion, has also not escaped the impact of COVID-19.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, air travel transportation in China recorded 8.3 million passengers in February this year, a decrease of 85% compared to the same period last year. Cargo transportation also decreased by 21%. The Civil Aviation Administration of China stated that as of this week, only 40% of domestic flights in China have resumed operations.

Globally, including China, measures such as blocking air routes or strengthening entry controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have continued, making damage to the global aviation industry inevitable. The International Air Transport Association expressed concern that if the COVID-19 spread continues, the global aviation industry could suffer revenue losses of $113 billion (approximately 135 trillion KRW). It also estimated that the losses for airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, would be nearly half of that amount, about $58 billion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.