By Neetha Mahadevan
FRANKFURT--New car registrations in Germany rose 2% on the year
in January, driven by strong demand for domestic brands.
New car registrations, a mirror for sales, hit 211,000 in
Europe's largest car market in January, according to data released
by the German automotive industry association VDA on Tuesday.
Demand for domestic brands rose 4% on the year, while foreign
brands declined 1% compared with the same month a year earlier.
"The continued strong orders from abroad and the surprisingly
higher orders from the domestic market are encouraging," VDA
President Matthias Wissmann said. However, he cautioned against
euphoria after the encouraging start.
German manufacturers exported about 3% fewer cars compared with
the same period last year, while car makers also scaled back on
production in January. Mr. Wissmann blamed fewer working days for
the decline.
European car sales started the year on a high note, with France
up 5.9%, Italy rising 11% and Spain surging 28%, despite fewer
selling days. ACEA, the European association of auto makers, is
slated to release January registration data on Feb. 17.
Write to Neetha Mahadevan at neetha.mahadevan@wsj.com