German car sales plunged 27% last month on a 12-month comparison. Exports climbed 51%, however, owing to a rebound of global markets, figures from the VDA auto federation showed today.
German sales were boosted in 2009 by a state-funded car scrapping scheme that expired in early September, and had been expected to fall as the subsidy was removed.
A total of 294,500 vehicles were sold last month in Germany, the biggest European car market, the figures showed.
Overall auto production climbed by 27% to 555,300 vehicles, and exports jumped by 51% to 419,400 units.
And in March alone, German auto manufacturers recorded a jump of almost 29% in foreign orders.
German car makers were hit hard by a global sector crisis last year, though Volkswagen, the biggest European manufacturer, fared better than rivals as buyers boosted by cash-for-clunker subsidies ordered smaller, cheaper autos.
