FRANKFURT--German new car registrations jumped 7% on the year in
December, buoyed by sales of domestic and foreign models amid lower
gasoline prices.
New car registrations, a proxy for sales, came to 229,700 in
Europe's largest car market during December, according to the
German automotive industry association VDA. Demand for both
domestic and foreign brands rose 7% compared with the same month a
year earlier.
For all of 2014, German car registrations were up 3%,
outperforming VDA's projection of a 2% rise for the year, amounting
to just over 3 million cars.
While the annual figure is better than expected, VDA President
Matthias Wissmann cautioned against euphoria.
"Private demand for new cars could have been higher, given
relatively orderly economic conditions," he said in the press
statement.
In late 2014, VDA President Matthias Wissmann said geopolitical
uncertainty from crisis hotspots such as Russia, Ukraine and the
Middle East and lackluster economic performance among some eurozone
members was putting a damper on German car purchases.
On Monday, Mr. Wissmann also urged politicians in Berlin and
Brussels to put European industrial competitiveness at the front
and center of any new policy initiatives this year.
ACEA, the European association of auto makers, is slated to
release December registration data on Jan. 16.
Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at nikki.houston@wsj.com
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