Germany’s three largest carmakers continued to lose ground against international rivals in the first half of the year, according to an analysis by consultancy EY.
The combined total revenues for Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW fell to around €284 billion ($325 billion) – a 2.9% decrease over the previous year, EY said.
By comparison, the 19 other international automotive groups examined by EY increased their revenues by 3.6% to just under €1.048 billion.
According to the data, this marks the third consecutive first-half revenue decline for the German manufacturers.
The lag becomes even more apparent in the corporate ranking: according to EY, 15 carmakers recorded a revenue increase – while the three German groups occupied places 16, 17 and 19. Tesla achieved the strongest growth, followed by Suzuki and Geely.
The weakness of the German automotive industry is also reflected in profits: earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of the German carmakers fell by 19% to €13 billion in the first half of the year.
In absolute terms, VW, Mercedes and BMW remained well ahead of manufacturers from other countries. However, according to the analysis, this is the lowest figure since the pandemic year 2020.
Performance was also down for manufacturers from China (minus 21.9%) and Japan (minus 36.5%). Meanwhile, US manufacturers Ford, General Motors and Tesla grew by 32.9%.
Source: dpa.com
