Strong Fleet Figures Reverses Downward Trend in German Passenger Car Market

The recovery of Germany’s passenger car market in August is primarily due to the strong performance of fleet business, which recorded a 21.3% increase, according to global market research company DataForce.

While the fleet market gave Germany’s passenger car market its first positive result since February, other market segments developed more cautiously. The private market grew by 3.4% and commercial registrations for vehicle construction (-11.2 %), vehicle trading (-16.2%) and car rental companies (-7.3%) continued to decline compared to the same month last year, DataForce numbers revealed.

Behind the growth is a slight recovery in vehicle production. For 2022, Dataforce continues to expect a slight waning. Automobile production remains a long way from normal, and the order backlog has also declined due to the increasingly tense economic situation.

“If, in this environment, the driving force of the fleet is weakened by a tax increase, the German passenger car market will come under even greater pressure,” according to a DataForce report.

In Germany, the battery-electric cars (BEVs) grew by 11% in August. For the first time since September 2021, new plug-in hybrid registrations also rose. Interest in BEVs is increasingly focused on the private market. Growth and market share here were both 24%. By year’s end, the momentum will increase because buyers are pushing to get even higher subsidies.

New registrations of light commercial vehicles and passenger car utilities grew by 239 units (+0.7%). While the segment seems to have stabilized, in recent months it continues to lag behind the passenger car business.

In terms of absolute growth, the relevant fleet market also made the largest contribution. In percentage terms, however, it “only” went up by 9.8%, while vehicle construction allowed almost 60% more vans than in August 2021.