FRANKFURT – New car sales in Germany fell slightly last month, official data showed yesterday, ahead of renewed nationwide restrictions to curb a second coronavirus wave.
A total of 274,303 cars were registered in October in Europe’s largest car market, a drop of 3.6% compared with the year before, said the KBA transport authority.
“The uncertain economic outlook and the overall difficult sales situation of many companies have again led to a sharp decline in registrations,” said EY analyst Peter Fuss.
The dip comes ahead of a four-week “lockdown light” announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel, which curtails gastronomy, leisure and cultural activities for much of this month, and promises to subdue consumer spending.
Fuss said he is expecting a “renewed decline in willingness to buy among both private individuals and companies”.
Unlike the first wave in the spring, which shut down much of the German economy and led to unprecedented falls in new car registrations, car dealerships and factories are staying open this time.
Electric car registrations last month rocketed by 365% year-on-year to claim a market share of 8.4%, driven in part by government incentives for greener vehicles.
German behemoth VW remains the overall market leader with around 17% of registrations, ahead of Mercedes on 12%, according to KBA.
Some 2.3 million new cars were sold in the year to October, down more than 23% on the same period in 2019. – AFP, November 5, 2020
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