Industry group: German new car sales down more than a quarter on year in March

German car sales slide in March

BERLIN — An industry group says new car registrations in Germany were down more than a quarter in March compared with a year earlier — when a popular car-scrapping bonus scheme boosted sales.

The VDIK group, which represents car importers, said Tuesday preliminary figures show 295,000 new cars were registered last month — a 26.5 percent year-on-year decline.

It said registrations were down 23 percent on the year in the first quarter at about 670,000.

The government-backed “cash-for-clunkers” program in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, was launched in 2008’s first quarter and expired in September. It boosted sales strongly but they have been declining in recent months.

VDIK said that, compared with 2008, first-quarter registrations were down only 9 percent.