German car sales drop 30% in January

New passenger car registrations in Germany fell more than 30% in January to about 170,000 vehicles, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Car dealerships have been hit by a second lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic in Germany, with non-essential stores closed since mid-December, and by tax breaks for consumers running out at the end of 2020.

New car registrations in December had been up by almost 10%.

Car authority KBA is due to publish official sales figures later on Wednesday.