The situation at German car manufacturers is deteriorating again

According to the findings of the Ifo Institute, the situation in the German auto industry continues to deteriorate. The indicator for the industry fell in December to minus 1 point after plus 7.9 points in November, as the Munich economic researchers announced on Wednesday.

The situation darkened fifth month in a row. “This renewed deterioration is driven by the manufacturers, not the suppliers,” said Ifo expert Oliver Falck. The position indicator for the manufacturers fell to 15.6 points. In November it was 36.5 points.

All manufacturers are still affected by delivery bottlenecks for preliminary products, the Ifo said. Business abroad seems to be stalling. The index for export expectations fell to 28.1 points from 51.1 points in November. “The expectations from the manufacturers are also no longer so rosy,” said Falck. Their business expectations fell from 42.7 to 18.2 points.

According to Ifo, the situation with the manufacturers is also being carried over directly to the suppliers. “The situation of the suppliers remains bad.” Although the indicator rose to minus 13.6 points from minus 21.7 in November, it remained clearly in negative territory. “The business expectations of suppliers are more pessimistic than they have been for almost two years,” the institute said.

The corresponding index fell from minus 24.8 points to minus 28.6 in December. “The latest announcements by car manufacturers to further expand their involvement in China are certainly depressing the mood of medium-sized suppliers in particular, which are heavily dependent on automobile production in Germany,” said Falck.