Japanese automakers saw new car sales in China tumble in April by more than 30 percent from the previous year amid a rise in coronavirus infections.

Toyota Motor's new vehicle sales in the world's largest auto market plunged 30.7 percent from April 2021 to about 111,000, Honda Motor 36.3 percent to about 95,000 and Nissan Motor 46 percent to about 69,000.

The slump is attributed to strict lockdown measures imposed in many areas, including cities such as Shanghai. The restrictions have disrupted the supply of parts. In addition, local factories where employees could not go to work have had to suspend or scale back production.

Toyota's factory in Changchun in the northeastern province of Jilin was forced to suspend operations for more than six weeks from March 14.

Car dealers were also forced to temporarily close, damaging sales.

New vehicle sales for the entire Chinese market, to be released on Wednesday, are expected to drop by nearly half.