VDA: Auto Industry Not Affected By Downturn; Confirms 2011 View

German automotive industry association VDA confirmed its 2011 outlook Friday, saying the economic downturn hasn't yet affected the industry.

The country's new car registrations in August rose 18% from a year earlier to 237,7000, while car exports of German brands increased 17% to 299,400, VDA said.

VDA President Matthias Wissmann said that was a record export volume. Domestic car production increased nearly 20% to 399,000, also a record, he said.

Wissmann said he expects the positive trend to weaken in the coming months because of the general economic slowdown. "Of course, now that the recovery process has reached its current stage, growth is going to slow," he said.

Nevertheless, the outlook for 2011 remains positive. The association still expects more than 3.1 million new car registrations in Germany this year, exports of over 4.5 million cars and more than 5.9 millions cars to be produced in the country.

By Nico Schmidt, Dow Jones Newswires, +49 - (0)69 297 25 114; [e-mail]