By William Boston

BERLIN--Volkswagen AG, the world's biggest car maker by sales, said Friday that sales in China plunged 74% in February as the coronavirus kept factories closed and customers away from showrooms.

The unprecedented decline bodes ill for the company's performance in other markets, analysts said, as the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic begins to hit Europe and the U.S.

"The collapse of sales in China in February is extremely alarming and without comparison," said Frank Schwope, an auto analyst at Nord/LB in a note to clients, adding the development in China "could spread in March and April to other important country markets in which social life could stand still for weeks."

Volkswagen said world-wide sales were down 25% in February and have declined 14% so far this year from a year ago. Sales in China fell to 60,900 vehicles last month from 234,400 a year ago. In the first two months of the year, Volkswagen sales in China fell 35% to 404,300.

Hardest hit among the company's car brands were the namesake Volkswagen passenger cars, Czech car maker Skoda, and Audi, its luxury car marque, which all generate substantial sales in China. Overall, Volkswagen generates about 41% of its annual sales in China.

Write to William Boston at William.Boston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2020 08:53 ET (12:53 GMT)