Infrastructure

Home page

Infrastructure

Auto sales soar in Germany

03 September 2009 13:57 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Sales of new cars in Germany jumped by 28 per cent in August on the year, boosted by a car-scrapping premium that ran out on Wednesday, figures released by the VDA auto federation showed.
The ’cash-for-clunkers’ bonus of 2,500 euros (S$5,129) for drivers who junked old cars and bought a new one hit its limit of two million autos earlier in the day and will not be extended, officials have said.
VDA figures showed that 275,000 vehicles were sold in the country last month, bringing the total since January to almost 2.7 million autos, or 565,000 more than in the first eight months of 2008.
Europe’s biggest auto market has been boosted since February by the scrapping rebate which was worth a total of five billion euros.
The sector is now bracing for a trough in 2010, with small car dealers expected to face the worst of the backlash.
German officials had tripled the initial amount accorded to the programme, a move criticized by several sector experts who said it would lead to a sharp slump in sales next year.
Similar subsidies were enacted in several European countries as well as in China, Japan and the United States, where sales had also begun to fall sharply as a result of the global economic downturn.
New car sales increased by seven per cent in France last month and stabilised in Spain following 15 consecutive months of decreases. Source: AFP