German new-car sales increased 36 per cent in March compared with the same month in 2020. Registrations totaled 292,000, according to data released last week the KBA motor vehicle authority.
The sales result was inflated because dealerships were closed in March 2020 during the country’s first lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“In reality, we have been dealing with an extremely weak passenger car market since the beginning of the year,” Reinhard Zirpel, president of the VDIK importers association, said in a statement.
“The industry could not have imagined that Q1-2021 would be even gloomier than the already extremely poor prior-year period. In many regions, car dealers are having to operate without appointment shopping. This is making the situation increasingly difficult,” Zirpel added.
Sales of full-electric cars rose 190 per cent to 30,000 for a 10 per cent market share. Plug-in hybrid registrations rose 278 per cent to 35,000 for a 12 per cent share. Sales of gasoline-engine cars rose 7 per cent to 115,000 for a 40 per cent share. Diesel-car registrations fell 5 per cent to 64,000 and a 22 per cent share.
Total German market registrations for the first quarter are down 6 per cent, to 656,000.
