Strong growth in automotive sales in 1H2020 despite pandemic: Automotive sales climbed 22% in the first six months of the year, despite the coronavirus pandemic weighing on the sector for much of the second quarter, industry data show. Figures released by the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC) show that dealers sold 90.4k vehicles (including passenger cars and commercial vehicles) in 1H2020, up from 74.8k during the same period in 2019. The six-month figures are supported by a strong 1Q performance that saw sales grow 50% on an annualized basis, before the government’s partial lockdown of the economy between April and June which curbed imports and temporarily shuttered dealerships.

Crunching the numbers: Distributors sold almost 11k more passenger cars during the first six months of the year than they did in the equivalent period last year, with sales figures rising 22% to 62.2k vehicles. Bus sales surged 80% to 12.7k, while truck sales fell slightly to 15.6k vehicles. The report, which relies on self-reporting by member distributors, shows Chevrolet as the top-selling brand, capturing a market share of 20.4%. Toyota came second with a 12.3% market share, followed by Nissan at 8.9%.