The German car market continued to stall in August as registrations fell 23 percent to 193,307, according to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
The figure is the lowest August sales since 1992, the VDIK importers association said.
New-car sales to private customers are weak with the private market remaining about 16 percent below the 10-year average, VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel said in a statement.
Registrations to private customers fell 25 percent for a 36.9 market share. Sales to business customers dropped 22 percent for a 63 percent share.
The auto industry continues to be buffeted by a global chip shortage, which is forcing automakers to cut back production, squeezing the supply of new cars to dealerships.
The boom in electrified and hybrid vehicle sales gathered speed in August as buyers continue their migration to EVs from diesel and gasoline vehicles.
Sales of full-electric cars jumped 80 percent to 28,860 to account for a 14.9 percent market share. Registrations of plug-in hybrids rose 43 percent to 24,497 for a 12.7 percent share.
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Sales of gasoline cars fell 42 percent for a 35.5 percent market share. Diesel registrations were down 51 percent for a 17.7 percent share.
Winners and losers
Among brand that had sales gains in August were Suzuki, up 37 percent, Tesla, up 34 percent, Mazda, up 19 percent and Opel, up 8 percent.
Most brands posted big sales declines,
Jeep's volume plunged 59 percent, Dacia fell 57 percent and Mercedes-Benz was down 50 percent. Registrations at Ford and Nissan each dropped 46 percent.
- Click here for German sales for August, 8 months
- Click here for German sales for August, 8 months
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Volkswagen remained Germany's top-selling brand despite a 17 percent drop in its monthly registrations.
In the first eight months registrations are up 2.5 percent to 1.8 million, which is 2 percent higher than in the same period last year but 25 percent below the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
