Although Chris Hadley Consulting has a strong track record in the UK automotive sector he has recently been asked to look in detail at the German market. While similar in structure to the UK, Germany is a market that typically has focused on high end vehicles as well as seeing the greater use of multi-modal forms of transport.

Research was undertaken using a mix of desk and field resources. The former involved analysis of data from Federal databases while the latter looked at the role of the car amongst German adults.

Key findings were the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sales during 2020 but also the expected rapid bounce back for the market in 2021. While online sales see similar scepticism to the UK the shift brought about by the pandemic is set to remain in place and remain a strong force of competition. While German manufacturers are set to continue to dominate, a demand for value will increasingly open up opportunities for importers and especially those from outside of Europe.