Although car dealers in Germany were among the first that were allowed to reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown in Germany, sales of new as well as second-hand cars did not pick up immediately.
"Three weeks after the restart, stationary car dealers are reporting a massive consumer resistance to buy," ZDK noted.
Around 28 percent of car dealers reported declines of sales by between 30 percent and 50 percent, according to the ZDK survey among more than 1,300 car dealers in Germany.
Trade in pre-owned vehicles showed "a somewhat more positive situation," ZDK noted. Decreases of 50 percent and more were reported by 38.4 percent of car dealers surveyed.
ZDK Vice President Thomas Peckruhn urged the German government to adopt a buyer's premium for cars. "Nothing is worse for the trade" than a week-long stalemate, added Peckruhn.
At the end of April, Volkswagen Chief Operating Officer Ralf Brandstaetter had said that a "special impulse" in the form of targeted sales promotion would be required now that car dealers in Germany had reopened.
Munich-based BMW and Stuttgart-based Daimler were also supportive of any governmental measure that could "strengthen demand in these times of great uncertainty among customers," according to Daimler.
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