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Germans hit brakes on car-buying in April

Frankfurt - Sales of new cars to German consumers and businesses fell sharply in April compared with the same month last year, official figures showed Wednesday (May 3).

Some 290 700 new vehicles were registered on the roads of Europe's largest economy last month, federal transport authority KBA reported, a fall of 8% compared with April 2016.

Easter holidays meant there were three fewer working days in April this year, contributing to the decline in sales, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) noted in a separate statement.

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All German manufacturers saw falling sales in April, with double-digit drops for luxury BMW and Mercedes as well as generalists Volkswagen and Opel.

Volkswagen remained the largest carmaker by registrations, accounting for some 19.4% of the market, followed by Mercedes at 9.3% and VW subsidiary Audi at 9.2.

Among importers, Germans preferred Skoda, Renault, and Fiat.

Looking beyond the April drop, the KBA officials highlighted a 2.5% increase in car sales over the first four months of this year compared with last, to almost 1.14 million vehicles.

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