- US auto production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (USA) fell 30.7% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to the first quarter of 2019 which had already decreased by 5.3% compared to the first quarter of 2018. The month of April was catastrophic, since the production volume did not exceed 2,000 units, a figure never reached since the Second World War.

- It is true that all assembly plants were shutdown in April in the United States because of the coronavirus crisis, which has also created an explosion in unemployment in the country (the rate is increased from 5% to 15% in one month).

- To avoid sclerosing the entire US economy, the Trump government has encouraged the deconfinement and restart of factories. Most decided to resume production in May, but at a slower than normal rate.

- However, the restart of the factories should accelerate, as demand remains strong, with 710,000 sales in April (despite the factories closed), these sales coming mainly from stocks from assembly factories not only from the United States, but also from Canada and Mexico which also closed their factories in April, and also from Japan and Europe.

- It will therefore be necessary to replenish stocks in order to be able to meet demand for the coming months, even if it is still not very optimal. If demand increases in the second half of 2020, the car factories will expand their activity and the number of unemployed should decrease, which will help the economy to recover. In summary, American production is not expected to drop too sharply in 2020, in the range of 10% to 15%.