German New Car Export Value Falls 8.9 Percent as Imports From China Jump 120.9 Percent
Germany exported about 2.0 million new cars worth 73.5 billion euros between January and July 2026, 4.0 percent fewer than a year earlier and 8.9 percent less in value, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Monday. Imports of new cars rose 16.0 percent to about 1.3 million, and China became the largest source, with imports from there up 120.9 percent to 175,000 cars.
Value is falling faster than volume
The value of car exports fell more than twice as fast as the number of cars shipped, which puts the average value of each car exported about 5.1 percent below a year earlier, on our calculation. The 8.9 percent fall also means car exports were worth about 7.2 billion euros less than in January to July 2025, when the same trade came to roughly 80.7 billion euros, on our calculation.
The United Kingdom, the United States and Italy were the main destinations, taking 32.7 percent of the cars exported between them. Combustion engine cars made up 52.7 percent of exports by volume, electric cars 28.1 percent and hybrids 19.2 percent, shares the statistics office said were broadly unchanged. Exports of combustion engine cars and of electric cars each fell 2.9 percent, to 1 million and 560,000 respectively, and hybrid exports fell 8.2 percent to 380,000.
The gap is wider in the United States
Germany exported 245,000 new cars worth 9.6 billion euros to the United States, 2.6 percent fewer than a year earlier and 17.1 percent less in value. That implies a fall of about 14.9 percent in the average value of each car shipped there, to roughly 39,200 euros, on our calculation.
The mix moved sharply toward combustion engines. Exports of combustion engine cars to the United States rose 31.7 percent, while hybrid exports fell 50.3 percent and electric car exports 56.1 percent. Combustion engine cars made up 80.8 percent of the US total, against roughly 60 percent a year earlier on our calculation from the published changes.
| Drivetrain | Cars | Share | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combustion engine | 198,000 | 80.8% | +31.7% |
| Electric | 25,000 | 10.0% | -56.1% |
| Hybrid | 23,000 | 9.2% | -50.3% |
| Total | 245,000 | 100% | -2.6% |
Press release No. 332 of 21 September 2026. The 100 percent total share is our sum.
China moves to first place among suppliers
Germany imported about 1.3 million new cars worth 34.9 billion euros over the seven months, 16.0 percent more by volume and 12.6 percent more by value. The average value of each imported car was therefore about 2.9 percent lower, on our calculation. Pure electric car imports rose 66.3 percent to 309,000 and hybrids 36.0 percent to 403,000, while combustion engine imports fell 9.0 percent to 554,000. On our calculation, electric and hybrid cars added roughly 230,000 imported cars between them, more than offsetting a fall of about 55,000 in combustion engine cars.
China supplied 175,000 cars, 13.8 percent of the total, after a rise of 120.9 percent that lifted it from fourth place to first. On our calculation, that puts China’s shipments a year earlier at about 79,000 cars. Czechia was a close second with 173,000 cars, up 22.9 percent, followed by Spain with 157,000. Imports from the United States fell 5.1 percent to 59,000, moving it from fifth to sixth place.
| Country | Cars | Share of imports | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 175,000 | 13.8% | +120.9% |
| Czechia | 173,000 | 13.7% | +22.9% |
| Spain | 157,000 | 12.4% | -0.4% |
| United States | 59,000 | 4.7% | -5.1% |
Press release No. 332 of 21 September 2026. The United States ranks sixth; the fourth and fifth places are not named in the release.
Why it matters: both sides of Germany’s car trade worked against its surplus. On our calculation, the surplus on new cars narrowed from about 49.7 billion euros in January to July 2025 to 38.6 billion euros this year, a fall of about 11.1 billion euros, or 22 percent. About 7.2 billion euros of that came from lower export value and about 3.9 billion from higher import value. By volume, the growth in imports came from electric and hybrid cars and from China, on our calculation.
Outlook: the next car release will show whether the fall in average export value continues. The United States is where to watch, with value down 17.1 percent against a 2.6 percent fall in cars. On imports, the measure is China’s 13.8 percent share, just ahead of Czechia’s 13.7 percent.
Sources: Destatis.
