According to reporting by Nasdaq and CNBC, U.S. auto sales are falling across the board. Meanwhile, auto companies are trying to shift sales online to make up for the loss of in-person sales, and some are offering 0% financing for qualified buyers.
Toyota Motor North America
"Clearly, there is significant economic damage occurring as we speak," Thomas King, chief product officer and president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power told CNBC. J.D. Power expects sales to drop to near-recession levels.
To combat these increasingly concerning sales numbers, car manufacturers are attempting to attract customers via online sales, referred to as 'Shop, Click, Drive' by General Motors
"It has taken on great importance recently. There's a lot of good going to come out of this, forcing the network to get into the 21st century overnight and learn how to do more online sales. ... Everybody's being forced into this," Mike Bowsher, owner of Carl Black Automotive Group, told CNBC.
In other efforts to attract buyers, GM and Fiat-Chrysler Auto.
"Our expectation is that it gets worse from here," Cox Automotive Chief Economist Charles Chesbrough told CNBC on Wednesday. "The news is going to get really bad."
If the stay-at-home orders in place across the country are lifted, auto-execs say there is a chance the industry will recover rapidly. Low gas prices and the effects of the stimulus package could help a lot. However, if the orders remain into the summer, the auto industry and the rest of the economy may be crippled.
"This is a very, very difficult environment," said King. "Once we get through this, there's a lot of ingredients to suggest that we could see a very strong V-shaped recovery."