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Auto sector asks for help after considerable drop in sales

The economic crisis has hit a good part of the businesses in different sectors, but one of those that has most accused the appearance of the coronavirus is the car.

So much so that, according to the data that the car insurance comparator Acierto.com has had access to, the vehicle sales –Both new and second-hand– has collapsed. And the number of shop customers has plummeted.

Sales decline sharply

Specifically, the sale of second-hand vehicles contracted in September by 13.5% compared to the previous year. The figure is striking if we take into account that initially the lack of new cars – due to the drop in production – had transferred the pressure to the second-hand market. Nor can we lose sight of the economic factor, the reason why many users resorted to this class of cars in order to spend less.

In any case, with respect to the few that are sold, it is mainly vehicles that are over 15 years of age. Operations of this type represent more than 25% of the total. Most transactions are carried out by individuals (over 52%). A type of vehicle that, according to Acierto.com statistics, is immersed in a greater number of accidents with fatalities and uses its insurance more frequently.

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The fall of repairs, a danger

As for the drop in workshops, it is estimated that each wave has reached triple the decline in repairs. Something that could initially justify the reduction in mobility, the rise of teleworking and perimeter closures, but which today takes on another meaning.

In fact, some workshop owners have already raised the alarm bell: they have detected a drop in customers of around 60%. “It is about a user who stops repairing his vehicle for an economic issue, who waits until the last moment to go to the workshop, when he has no choice,” they comment from Acierto.com.

“To this must be added a car fleet that does not stop aging, with vehicles that are insured to third parties and on which you want to spend a lot of money. This extends to vehicle repairs and maintenance », qualifies the car insurance comparator.

Specifically, more than 49% of drivers acknowledge that they only go to the workshop when a breakdown occurs. And a third do not even carry out the revisions stipulated by the manufacturer. One in five doesn’t even know when they should pass them. The tires are not changed on time either: the ideal is to do it after traveling 40,000 kilometers, but 46% of Spaniards replace them when they exceed 50,000, and 12%, when they exceed 65,000.

All this, as we pointed out, increases the chances of suffering a road accident (both an accident and a breakdown). Vintage cars are responsible for two out of every five accidents. Furthermore, the risk of death doubles in those over the decade of age. The lack of security mechanisms has a lot to do with it.

“These cars are much more likely to break down while driving, as their parts and components are more worn. This makes them more frequently need the roadside assistance from their policy (40% of drivers have used it at some time, and in the case of older vehicles the percentage skyrockets). What ends up also leading, as a general rule, to more expensive car insurance », indicate the experts of Acierto.com.

Finally, to the absence of customers from the workshops are added some more: the rise in supplies, which increases the costs they have to face; and the shortage of parts for repairs. In short, a situation that could cause around 20% of the workshops that operate today, not to do so today until 2030.

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