The business climate in Germany’s automotive industry darkened in August, the leading ifo institute said on Wednesday after publishing its latest index showing a drop of 6.2 points to minus 24.7 points.
“Sentiment in the automotive industry is nosediving,” ifo automotive sector analyst Anita Wölfl said. The fall was the fourth in a row, following a slight temporary recovery, according to the Munich-based institute.
Wölfl said that extremely pessimistic business expectations for the next six months were behind the decline in sentiment. The forward-looking index plummeted to -40.5 points, down from -29.5 points in July.
“Companies in the German automotive industry are suffering from a lack of new orders, especially from abroad. That is now also reflected in the personnel planning,” Wölfl said.
The indicator for export expectations dropped significantly for the third time in a row and is now at -29.6 points – the lowest it has been in a long time.
