German new-car exports fall 4% as imports surge
Germany shipped about 2 million new passenger cars abroad from January through July. China became the country’s leading source of imported vehicles.
German exports of new passenger cars declined in the first seven months of 2026, with volumes down 4% from a year earlier to roughly 2 million vehicles. Their total export value fell 8.9% to €73.5 billion.
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported the figures on Monday, September 21. The United Kingdom, the United States and Italy absorbed 32.7% of all new cars exported during the period.
Battery-electric cars accounted for 28.1% of shipments, while combustion-engine models retained the largest share at 52.7%. Exports to the United States slipped 2.6% to 245,000 cars, as deliveries of electric models to that market plunged 56.1%.
The flow in the opposite direction expanded sharply: Germany imported about 1.3 million new cars, 16% more than a year earlier. China moved from fourth to first among supplier countries after its deliveries more than doubled to 175,000 vehicles.