BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Germany's passenger car market saw the strongest growth in more than a year in September, with registrations of new passenger cars increasing by 14 percent year-on-year to almost 225,000 units, to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) said on Thursday.
The development is "encouraging," said Reinhard Zirpel, president of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK).
However, the level of new car registrations still remains well below the long-term average, he said, with growth mainly based on an "extremely weak month last year, and a reduction of the purchase application backlog built up in previous months."
In the first nine months of the year, new registrations were down 7 percent year-on-year. The balance is "sobering," Zirpel said. "For the first time ever, passenger car sales are below two million units after nine months."
In 2022, the consulting firm Ernst and Young (EY) Germany expects a year-on-year decline in new registrations. By contrast, EY said that new registrations of electric cars and plug-in hybrids in September rose by a combined 29 percent in Germany, the highest growth rate in this segment in a year.
A purchase premium for new electric vehicles of up to 9,000 euros (8,880 U.S. dollars) will run out at the end of 2022. Germany's government is aiming to have 15 million pure electric cars on the road by 2030.
