BERLIN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The German car industry is experiencing a slight upswing, with the industry indicator increasing from 0.8 points in December to 4.6 points in January, the ifo Institute said on Thursday.
"The market for new cars has been swept clean, so dealerships can sell their stock to customers without offering any discounts," said Oliver Falck, director of the ifo center for industrial organization and new technologies.
However, despite an improving situation on the supply side, Germany's car industry is "still coping with bottlenecks," and production remains below average, the ifo Institute said.
Two of Germany's leading car manufacturers, Audi and Mercedes, reported shrinking sales figures in 2021.
BMW was less affected by the chip crisis, and sold around 2.2 million of its core brand cars last year, 9.1 percent more than in the previous year.
"Automotive markets around the world had a turbulent 2021," according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
In the second half of the year in particular, the shortage of semiconductors placed significant strain on global supply chains, it said.
While new car registrations in 2021 in the United States increased by 3.1 percent year-on-year, and by 6.6 percent in China, sales in the European Union declined by 2.4 percent, VDA reports. ■