HispanicBusiness

The German new car market is expected to stagnate in the coming 12 months after it shrank last year by 2.9 percent compared with 2011, data released Thursday showed.

New registrations in Europe's biggest car market slumped by 16 per cent to 204,000 in December compared with the same month in 2011 as the eurozone debt hit auto sales, the international motor vehicle makers' association (VDIK) said.

But this also reflected the lower number of days that showroom were open last month compared with December 2011, the VDIK said.

The association said a total of about 3.08 million new cars were registered in the full-year 2012.

"If the economic situation stabilizes and the existing consumer sentiment also translates into demand for cars, it's possible new car registrations in 2013 will reach between 3.0 million and the 2012 figure of 3.08 million," VDIK president Volker Lange said.