- The European passenger car market fell 26.3% in the first quarter of 2020, which is better than the Chinese market (-45.4%), but less than the American (-11.1%), Japanese markets. (-10.0%) or Indian (-22.1%).

- Regarding the European market, we observe that the countries most affected by the coronavirus are among the countries where car sales fell the most during the quarter. Thus, Italy (-35.4%), France (-34.1%), the United Kingdom (-31.0%) and Spain (-31.0%) see their automotive market s '' collapse even more dramatically than the European market as a whole.

- The countries which resisted the best were rather the countries located in the East of Europe, those located in the North of Europe (Scandinavia) as well as Germany and the Netherlands. These countries have been little affected by the coronavirus.

- Only Austria is a special case, as its market fell by 32.3% while the country was little affected by the coronavirus.

- This observation could lead at the end of the year to a two-speed Europe: a Europe little affected by the pandemic with a relatively moderate drop in its registrations and whose economy will restart faster, and a Europe more affected by the pandemic with a sharp drop in its registrations and whose economy will restart more slowly, due to a longer confinement atrophying the industrial and commercial sectors.

- This scenario obviously excludes a second wave of the pandemic which could possibly occur at the end of the second quarter of 2020 or in the second half of 2020.