German car exports drop 4% in first 7 months

Germany exported around two million new passenger cars between January and July 2026, marking a 4% volume decline compared with the same period last year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Monday.

The total value of new car exports dropped by 8.9% to €73.5 billion ($84.4 billion).

Shipments of combustion engine cars decreased by 2.9% to a million units during the seven-month period.

Electric car exports also fell by 2.9% to 560,000 units, while hybrid vehicle shipments dropped by 8.2% to 380,000.

The UK, the US and Italy remained the main destinations for German cars, receiving 32.7% of all new car exports.

Exports to the US declined by 2.6% in volume to 245,000 vehicles and 17.1% in value to €9.6 billion.

While combustion engine vehicle exports to the US surged by 31.7%, electric and hybrid car shipments plummeted by 56.1% and 50.3%, respectively.

On the import side, Germany brought in approximately 1.3 million new cars from January to July, reflecting a 16% volume increase compared with 2025.

China became the top supplier of new cars to Germany, with imports surging 120.9% to 175,000 vehicles.