The German passenger car market generated a positive first quarter result. A total of 880,200 passenger cars were newly registered in the first three months of this year. That is the largest volume in a first quarter since 2000. Compared with the first quarter of 2018, the proportion of diesel vehicles rose slightly to reach 33.1 percent (32.3 percent in January to March 2018). In March 345,600 passenger cars were newly registered (-1 percent), and 32.4 percent of them were diesels (31.4 percent in 2018).
Incoming orders from Germany during the first quarter were 7 percent up on the same period last year. After strong results in the first two months, March domestic orders showed a year-on-year fall of 10 percent. Orders from abroad lost 8 percent in the first quarter of 2019. The March figure was also down by 8 percent.
German passenger car manufacturers built nearly 1.3 million units in the first quarter (-11 percent). Last month 451,400 passenger cars were produced (-14 percent).
Exports present a similar picture. In March 343,300 passenger cars were delivered to customers around the world (-9 percent). So far this year 975,300 vehicles have been exported, almost reaching the one million mark (-10 percent).
| March 2019 | January – March 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars *) | in % | in % | ||
| New registrations | 345.600 | -1 | 880.200 | 0 |
| of which | ||||
| German makes incl. group makes | 236.300 | 1 | 607.500 | 0 |
| Foreign Makes | 109.300 | -3 | 272.700 | 0 |
| Export | 343.300 | -9 | 975.300 | -10 |
| Production | 451.400 | -14 | 1.264.400 | -10 |
| *) Estimate Source: VDA/KBA |
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