German Car Registrations Stall in August

   By Natalia Drozdiak 
 

FRANKFURT--German new car registrations fell slightly in August, according to data released Tuesday, due to one less working day in the summer month.

About 213,100 cars were registered in August in Europe's largest auto market, down 0.5% on the year-earlier period when 214,044 cars were registered, according to the German automotive industry association, or VDA.

For the first half, however, registrations rose 3% to about 2 million units, the VDA said.

"The German market is still on the right course [and] we will hit our annual target of 3 million units," VDA President Matthias Wissmann said of the registrations, which are a proxy for car sales.

Last year, auto sales in Germany had dropped 4% to EUR2.95 million, with industry experts in May forecasting it to again hit the EUR3 million mark this year.

The association didn't provide information on sales of individual brands but Opel said Tuesday it sold 15,000 passenger cars in Germany in August, reaching 7% of market share in the country.

ACEA, the European association of auto makers, will release July and August new car registrations for Europe on September 17. Car manufacturers expect European Union sales to grow 3% this year after a six-year slump.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at [e-mail]