Just around 270,000 new cars were registered last month, compared to 1.14 million in April 2019, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said in a monthly bulletin published on Tuesday, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.
"The first full month with Covid-19 restrictions in place resulted in the strongest monthly drop in car demand since records began," ACEA noted.
In March, year-on-year sales were down by 55.1 percent.
The automotive sector has been one of the worst affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, as lockdowns depressed consumer demand and forced the closure of car dealers and car factories across Europe.
In Italy and Spain, two countries which adopted some of the world's strictest virus containment measures, sales were down to almost zero, falling respectively by 97.6 percent and 96.5 percent.
Sales were down by 88.8 percent in France, while Germany, a country that has been less seriously affected by the pandemic, reported a smaller year-on-year drop of 61.1 percent.
Amid free-falling sales, Germany's Volkswagen group improved its leading position in the market, as its share rose to 28.8 percent, from 24.9 percent a year earlier.
France's PSA Group saw its share drop from 17.1 percent to 13.6 percent, Renault's was down from 11.6 percent to 10.2 percent, while BMW advanced from 5.9 percent to 8.7 percent.
Meanwhile Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which relies heavily on the Italian market, saw its European market footprint halve from 7.4 percent to 3.8 percent.
