While consumer researchers expect an upturn in the second half of the year, the German government warns against too much euphoria. The owners of brand-affiliated and independent car dealerships are also rather cautious about the economic situation in the sector: 55 percent of companies rate the current economic situation as "satisfactory" and 19 percent as "poor". This was the result of a survey conducted by the Bank Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe (BDK) and the editorial team of "kfz-betrieb", which will be presented in the current issue of "kfz-betrieb" on August 6.



The economic assessment of the entrepreneurs is reflected in the industry indices of the two survey groups. For example, the index for branded companies fell from 114 points in June to 107 in July. The value for independent service companies lost 16 points and reached the one hundred percent mark in the month under review.



Despite the gloomy mood, many brand-affiliated car dealers also benefited from the government subsidy last month: almost two thirds of authorized dealers recorded higher sales in the new car business than in the same month of the previous year. The positive development in new car registrations is due to the reorganization of the motor vehicle tax and the environmental bonus, emphasizes VDA President Matthias Wissmann.



However, the success story in the new car trade is slowly slowing down: Only around 33 percent (previous month: 42 percent) of the authorized dealers surveyed expect higher sales in the coming month. Around 35 percent expect sales of new vehicles to be lower than in the previous year. The mood in the workshop business is also gloomy: just under a quarter of franchised dealerships recorded lower revenues last month than in the same period last year. Around 30 percent are also forecasting falling service revenues for August.



Further details and the BIX archive can be found online at www.kfz-betrieb.de/branchenindex.



"kfz-betrieb" is the most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry and has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for 98 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German Motor Trade (ZDK), the professional interest group for around 40,000 car dealerships and workshops. Daily news from the entire automotive industry is available at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter. The parent company Vogel Business Media is one of the leading German providers of specialist information with around 100 trade journals and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg.