Passenger car market down slightly in October

The German passenger car market again recorded a slight year-on-year decline in October despite an additional working day. The Federal Motor Transport Authority registered 274,303 new registrations. That is a drop of 4 percent. Since the beginning of the year the market has fallen by 23 percent, with million new passenger cars registered. However, the losses were significantly reduced in the second half of the year. After a 35 percent drop in the first six months, new passenger car registrations fell by just 6 percent between July and October.

The international brands registered 934,702 new passenger cars between January and October. During this period, the market share of the VDIK members rose to over 40 percent (previous year: 38.8 percent).

Reinhard Zirpel, President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, explained: “Against the backdrop of the very high level of the previous year, the October figures are a respectable result. Since the beginning of the second half of the year, losses have fallen significantly. We can speak of a delicate recovery. Nevertheless, the resurgence of infection in the coming weeks and months may jeopardize the positive market development.

Private new registrations rose by 7 percent in October, significantly outperforming the market as a whole. In the first ten months, more than 850,000 new registrations were recorded by private customers, which represents a 20 percent decline over the course of the year.

Zirpel added: “In the second half of the year alone, the private market has so far grown by 6 percent and is above the average level of the last ten years. Private buyers are therefore the driving force in the market in the second half of the year. The further development of the market is difficult to estimate. However, since the car dealerships and registration offices will not be closed, the market is likely to develop more stably than in the spring”.

The market for diesel passenger cars declined by 19 percent in October. A total of 681,360 new diesel passenger cars were registered between January and October. The share of passenger cars with diesel engines thus fell to 29 percent (same period in 2019: 32 percent).

The alternative drive systems recorded significant growth rates. According to the KBA, 23,158 passenger cars with battery electric drives were newly registered (up 365 percent). In addition, 24,859 new plug-in hybrids (up 258 percent) hit the roads.