German auto sales fell 20% year-on-year in October

Gasgoo Motors reported that in October, German auto sales fell 20% year-on-year to 257,000 units. In the first 10 months of this year, German auto sales fell 27% year-on-year.

In 2009, driven by the replacement policy of old cars, German car sales have expanded. Compared with October 2008, German car sales fell by 16% in October this year.

Although German car sales will continue to show a downward trend in the coming months, this does not mean that German consumption is weak.

Consumer research organization GfK said: "Consumers are generally optimistic about the future of the consumer environment, consumer confidence index is still high." GfK expects personal consumption in Germany this year will increase 0.5% year-on-year.

According to data released by the European Commission, the German consumer confidence index rose for the fourth consecutive month in October, the second highest level in 20 years, and was only lower than the index in May 2007.