Sales of new cars in Germany rose by three per cent in April from the equivalent figure last year, a sharp slowdown from the March rate of 11 per cent, the VDA sector federation said yesterday.
A total of 266,380 vehicles were delivered in the biggest European auto market, VDA data showed, while figures since the beginning of the year showed a gain of 11 per cent to nearly 1.03 million vehicles.
The German market “is in a normalisation process,” VDA president Matthias Wissmann noted.
Exports gained two percent to 358,000 vehicles in April on an annualised basis, while overall production was also two per cent higher at 472,000 units.
Manufacturers of German luxury autos forecast a bumper year owing to strong demand in emerging markets, led by China which is now the world’s biggest auto market.