Sales of new automobiles in Brazil fell by 26.2 percent last year as the coronavirus pandemic battered the car industry, according to figures released Tuesday.

A total of 2.05 million new vehicles were sold in Latin America's biggest economy in 2020, down from 2.787 million in 2019, said the National Federation of Automobile Dealerships (Fenabrave).

The drop broke four straight years of sales growth for the auto industry coming off a deep recession in 2015, when new vehicle sales fell by 26.6 percent.

The industry ground to a virtual halt after the pandemic hit Brazil last year. Vehicle production plunged by 99 percent in April.

Sales recovered in the second half of the year.

However, 2021 also looks uncertain, as Brazil struggles with a second wave of Covid-19.

The country of 212 million people has the second-highest death toll in the pandemic after the United States: more than 196,000.

Analysts polled by the central bank forecast the Brazilian economy's contraction for 2020 will come in at -4.36 percent.

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