Würzburg, February 9, 2009



There is growing optimism in the automotive industry that demand for new cars is increasing. Nevertheless, car dealers remain skeptical. The reason for the glimmer of hope was the German government, which put together the biggest economic stimulus package of all time and gave car manufacturers and new car dealers special bonuses. "In combination with the environmental bonus and the tax suspension for Euro 4 and Euro 5 vehicles until the middle of the year, the vehicle tax reform can provide additional impetus for the renewal of the vehicle fleet and thus for the automotive industry," explains VDA Managing Director Dr. Kunibert Schmidt.



However, despite the optimistic mood in the car associations and public media, the expectations of many new car dealers remain rather subdued. For example, 53 percent of entrepreneurs rate the current situation in the automotive industry as "poor" and only five percent as "good". This was the result of the industry index of the Bank Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe (BDK) and the trade journal "kfz-betrieb". The survey was carried out by BBE Retail Experts.



The skeptical assessment of the industry economy is not surprising, as 55 percent of those surveyed reported lower sales in the new car business last month than in the same period of the previous year. The sales forecasts for the coming month are also not very hopeful: almost 70 percent of new car dealers expect lower sales revenue and only three percent expect higher sales revenue. The factory-based dealers in eastern Germany are particularly pessimistic, with around 88 percent expecting new car sales to fall in February.



The only ray of hope remains the workshop business: just over 21 percent of franchised businesses expect service and parts sales revenues to rise next month, while a good 50 percent expect them to remain the same.



Dr. Hermann Frohnhaus, Spokesman of the Management Board of Bank Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe, comments: "We can certainly see the rise in the industry index values as a glimmer of hope. A look at the sales figures for 2008 shows that not only did the private market grow by over 40,000 vehicles overall, but that sales on the private market rose by 5.3 percent in December 2008 alone. Consumers seem to want to defy the economic crisis. And the measures taken by the government also seem to be having a positive effect on the vehicle market. Nevertheless, we should not become too euphoric just yet. Recent reports of renewed short-time working at some manufacturers clearly show that we are still a long way from overcoming this difficult phase. The next few months will be a major challenge for the entire industry."



You can find our BIX archive at www.kfz-betrieb.de/branchenindex.



"kfz-betrieb" is a trade magazine published by Vogel Business Media, Würzburg. The most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for 98 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German automotive trade (ZDK), the professional interest group for around 40,000 car dealerships and workshops. Daily news from the entire automotive industry can be found at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter.

If you have any questions, please contact

Norbert Rubbel

Editorial office "kfz-betrieb"

Service & Technology Department

Vogel Business Media GmbH & Co. KG

97064 Würzburg

Tel. 0931 418-2634

E-mail: norbert.rubbel@vogel.de

You can also find this press release at www.vogel-media.de