German car sales drop 30% in January - source

[February 03, 2021]    HAMBURG (Reuters) - New passenger car registrations in Germany fell more than 30% in January to around 170,000 vehicles, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday.

An employee works at the A3 and A4 production line of the German car manufacturer Audi, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ingolstadt, Germany, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert

Car dealerships have been hit by a second lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic in Germany, with non-essential stores closed since mid-December, and by tax breaks for consumers running out at the end of 2020.

New car registrations in December had been up by almost 10%.

Car authority KBA is due to publish official sales figures later on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Jan Schartz; Writing by Maria Sheahan, editing by Emma Thomasson)

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