Business Climate in the German Automotive Industry on the Upswing
The business climate in Germany’s automotive industry brightened in March. The indicator rose to -5.8 points, up from -9.9 points* in February. “The German automotive industry seems to have finally emerged from its economic low in the second half of 2023 and is looking to the future with more confidence,” says Anita Wölfl, a specialist at the ifo Center for Industrial Organization and New Technologies.
Business expectations for the next six months were significantly less pessimistic, boosting that indicator from -29.5 points* in February to -18.7 points in March.
The export outlook is particularly rosy: the corresponding indicator is showing a positive double-digit balance for the first time in almost a year. One reason for this is likely to be the positive development in the US and China, the two most important sales markets for the German automotive industry.
There is also a ray of hope in the supply of key intermediate products: only a few companies reported problems in their supply chains. “Here, the efforts that the German automotive industry has undertaken since the pandemic to make supply chains more resilient are paying off,” Wölfl says.
*Seasonally adjusted
