Production of passenger cars at German assembly lines from January through June came to 2.174 million units, up 4% on the first half of 2024, according to national automotive association VDA.
A year-on-year increase in production already appeared in the first quarter, with output up by 5% on-year (see Kallanish passim). March alone saw growth of as much as 8%, but this did not necessarily indicate a long-term trend of further increase. In June, the figure of 360,000 units produced was only 3% higher than in June 2024.
VDA notes that production remains low in comparison to the pre-Covid year of 2019 – it is still almost 13% below that level.
Of the total June output, around two thirds – 274,700 – of new cars were exported from production facilities in Germany, 5% more than in the same month last year. Since January, almost 1.7m new cars were exported, up 3% on the same period last year.
VDA’s monthly statistics do not discuss to what extent US import tariff policy has affected trans-Atlantic export activity. In a separate statement, VDA managing director Hildegard Müller welcomes the recent agreement between US president Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, to prevent a further escalation of trade measures.
However, she emphasises that the US tariff of 15%, including for automotive products, will cost the German automotive industry billions annually and place an additional burden on it amid its energy transition.
Christian Koehl Germany
