German car sales jump as emissions woes ease

• Car sales in Europe's powerhouse economy took a hit in September 2018 when the EU introduced air pollution tests known as WLTP in response to the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.
• Several automakers scrambled to get their vehicles certified in time, leading to bottlenecks that squeezed sales for months.
• The Volkswagen brand saw a jump of 39 percent, while rivals Mercedes and BMW booked single-digit sales increases.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German car sales climbed in October, official data showed Monday, as last year's production bottlenecks caused by new pollution rules faded into the rearview mirror.

A total of 284,593 new cars hit the road last month, up 12.7 percent year-on-year, the KBA transport authority said in a statement.

Car sales in Europe's powerhouse economy took a hit in September 2018 when the European Union introduced air pollution tests known as WLTP in response to the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.

Several automakers scrambled to get their vehicles certified in time, leading to bottlenecks that squeezed sales for months.

"Following the bottlenecks caused by WLTP regulations last year, the current full availability of models is having a positive impact on the market," the VDA industry federation said in a statement.

Sales in high-end carmakers Porsche and Audi, which were among the brands worst-hit by the backlog, soared by 498 percent and 118 percent respectively in October.

The Volkswagen brand saw a jump of 39 percent, while rivals Mercedes and BMW booked single-digit sales increases.

The VDA noted that demand for German cars from abroad dipped four percent year-on-year, adding to a picture of weaker global growth and fuelling fears of a German slowdown.

The fallout from the 2015 dieselgate crisis meanwhile seems to have stabilised in recent months, with the share of new cars powered by the fuel continuing to hover at around 30 percent -- far below pre-scandal levels.

Electric vehicles also enjoyed a surge in sales but still accounted for less than two percent of new car registrations in October, and hybrids for just over nine percent.