Slight growth in German passenger car market in February

In Germany, 206,200 passenger cars were newly registered in February, 3% more than in the same month of the previous year. This compensated for the negative start to the year in January, so that after the first two months of this year the German market as a whole is back at the previous year's level. Compared to the pre-crisis year of 2019, however, the German passenger car market is still lagging behind: in the past month, a good 23% fewer vehicles were newly registered than in February 2019.

New electric vehicle registrations (BEV, PHEV, FCEV) fell by 11% in February compared to the same month last year and reached a total volume of 44,400 units. A significant slump in plug-in hybrids (PHEV) is the prime reason for the decline: 11,900 newly registered vehicles mean a drop of 45% compared to February of the previous year. The state subsidy that expired at the end of the year continues to put pressure on the number of new registrations in this segment. New registrations of purely battery-electric passenger cars (BEV) rose by almost 15% year-on-year in February to a level of 32,500 units. A total of 71,400 e-cars were sold in the first two months of this year. That is 20% less than in the same period of the previous year.

In the case of German manufacturers, incoming orders from Germany again fell significantly. Compared to the previous year, 37% fewer orders were registered in February. Foreign orders in February were 3% below the prior-year level. In the year to date, the order volume from abroad has fallen by 13% compared to the previous year.

In February, the production level in German production facilities of the automotive industry was above that of the same month of the previous year for the tenth time in a row. 382,600 cars rolled off the production lines last month. That is 24% more than in February 2022. In January and February, a total of almost 708,300 vehicles were manufactured (+26% compared to the same period last year). Despite the positive trend in recent months, which is due in particular to the gradually improving supply situation with primary and intermediate products, the production level is still significantly below the pre-crisis level. In the first two months of the current year, 13% fewer vehicles were manufactured than in the last year before COVID, 2019.

Exports developed in a similar way to production: In February, 278,000 cars were delivered to customers all over the world (+24% compared to the same month last year).