MILAN (AP) — European car sales bottomed out last month as the automotive industry faces its worst crisis in decades. Strict lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus closed most dealerships across the continent for the full month of April amid a precipitous drop in consumer spending, causing sales to collapse by an unprecedented 76%, the ACEA car manufacturers’ association said Tuesday. Carmakers across the continent sold just 270,682 vehicles last month, compared with 1.14 million a year earlier, the ’’strongest monthly drop in car demand since records began,” ACEA said. Southern Europe was the hardest hit with new car registrations down 97.6% in Italy and 96.5% in Spain — as both countries struggled with some of the highest levels of coronavirus infection in Europe. France saw an 89% contraction while Germany suffered a 61% drop. European car sales for the first four months of the year were down 39%. […]