SHANGHAI, April 11 Reuters China auto sales plunged in March as the country39;s curbs to rein in COVID19 outbreaks took their toll, while Tesla Inc was among automakers feeling the pain of limits on production.

Sales in the world39;s biggest car market tumbled 11.7 in March from a year earlier to 2.23 million vehicles its first decline in three months and contrasting sharply with an 18.7 jump in February, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The recent pandemic situation has been quite severe and so the figures in March were not too good, and we currently do not see much improvement in April, said Chen Shihua, the association39;s deputy secretary general.

He added automakers were pressing the government for supportive measures such as cuts to the auto purchase tax.

China has imposed strict lockdowns to contain the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, including in Jilin province and Shanghai.

Tesla has suspended production at its Shanghai factory since March 28, while Volkswagen39;s Shanghai joint venture paused operations this month. Volkswagen and Toyota Motor Corp joint ventures with their Chinese partners in Changchun, Jilin39;s capital, have been suspended since midMarch.

Tesla only assembled 55,462 units in March when it also paused production for two days in the middle of the month, data from a separate association showed.

That was just 154 more than in February, a much shorter month for workers due to the Lunar New…