By Natalia Drozdiak
FRANKFURT--German new car registrations fell slightly in August,
according to data released Tuesday, due to one less working day in
the summer month.
About 213,100 cars were registered in August in Europe's largest
auto market, down 0.5% on the year-earlier period when 214,044 cars
were registered, according to the German automotive industry
association, or VDA.
For the first half, however, registrations rose 3% to about 2
million units, the VDA said.
"The German market is still on the right course [and] we will
hit our annual target of 3 million units," VDA President Matthias
Wissmann said of the registrations, which are a proxy for car
sales.
Last year, auto sales in Germany had dropped 4% to EUR2.95
million, with industry experts in May forecasting it to again hit
the EUR3 million mark this year.
The association didn't provide information on sales of
individual brands but Opel said Tuesday it sold 15,000 passenger
cars in Germany in August, reaching 7% of market share in the
country.
ACEA, the European association of auto makers, will release July
and August new car registrations for Europe on September 17. Car
manufacturers expect European Union sales to grow 3% this year
after a six-year slump.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com