Tesla, VW, Opel and Ford see sales dip in German market down 11% in February

FRANKFURT -- German new-car sales fell 11 percent to 239,943 in February as private customers stayed away from showrooms.

Registrations from private buyers dropped 16 percent while sales to business customers were down 7.8 percent, according to data released by the KBA motor transport authority on Wednesday.

Sales of Tesla's electric cars fell 37 percent. The electric-car maker had been gaining volume last year following the launch of the Model 3.

Other brands that saw steep drops included Smart, which fell 81 percent after the brand became electric-only and dropped its gasoline and diesel cars.

Also seeing large declines were Honda, down 39 percent; Dacia, down 37 percent; Opel, down 21 percent; Audi, down 20 percent and Ford, down 19 percent.

Germany's top-selling brand, VW, saw its sales drop by 11 percent.

Mercedes-Benz registrations fell 3.3 percent and BMW sales were down 1.2 percent.

    Download PDF here for German registrations by brand in February

Among brands which saw big volume rises were Lexus, up 71 percent; Volvo, up 25 percent; Seat, up 23 percent and Porsche, up 19 percent.

Despite Tesla's sales dip, sales of electrified cars gathered momentum, boosted by European automakers adding more plug-in hybrid cars to help meet the EU's CO2 reduction targets.

Registrations of full-electric vehicles rose 76 percent to 8,154.

Sales of hybrid models rose 98 percent to 30,000, including a 279 percent increase to 8,354 for plug-in models.

Sales of gasoline cars fell 22 percent, resulting in a 52.1 percent market share. Diesel sales dropped 13 percent for a 31.6 percent share.

The 11 percent fall in February sales follows a 7 percent drop in January.

The fall in registrations in the first two months follows an end-of-the-year buying frenzy in December when sales rose 20 percent as automakers pushed sales of vehicles with higher emissions ahead of the European Union's Jan. 1 introduction of stricter CO2 limits.

Through February, German sales are down 9 percent to 486,243.

The German market is undergoing an expected correction, the head of the VDIK importers association, Reinhard Zirpel, said in a statement.

The VDIK forecasts registrations to fall 7 percent this year to 3.35 million.

Zirpel forecast that electrified cars will make a breakthrough this year and achieve significant market share.