A total of 2,701 units were bought in the first three months of this year. Within that overall figure were 2,609 earthmoving machine sales (-15%), with the remaining 92 sales consisting of road machines (-23%).
Unacea, the Italian construction equipment trade association, released the quarterly numbers during an online press conference.
The association's president, Marco Risi, said: "It is a dramatic drop because the trend in the first two months of the year had been quite positive, but with the arrival of the [COVID-19] crisis in March we have witnessed the cancellation of the market, both foreign and internal.
"To avoid the destruction of the Italian industry, we need urgent public support relating to the relaunch and acceleration of public infrastructures. On the other hand, we must ensure that liquidity reaches the companies, which has not happened yet."
