Ifo Institute: German Automotive Industry Braces for Hard Times

Munich – Germany’s automotive industry is preparing itself for more hard times over the next several months. This is the result of the most recent ifo Business Climate survey. The industry’s demand index declined in February, falling to minus 11.8 points from minus 2.1 in January. Export expectations dropped to minus 15.4 points from minus 5.2 in January. The situation will hit the workforce particularly hard, with the personnel planning index sliding from minus 31.9 points in January to minus 41.8 points in February.

On balance, business expectations for the coming months remained negative at minus 18.9 points, albeit up somewhat from minus 26.3 points in January. Assessments of the current situation fell from 13.2 points last month to just 7.5 points. The only improvement was in production plans for the coming months, going up slightly from 3.8 points to 6.1 points in February.