For fear of the introduction of the virus, strict restrictions on entry and two weeks of quarantine still apply in China. There are also few flights to China. "I expect very good sales in the second half of the year," said Cui Dongshu of China's Passenger Car Association. After the sharp slump due to the pandemic in the first half of the year, the expected decline for the entire year will be reduced to a minus of only five to eight percent.
Despite all the uncertainties, the expert is expecting an increase of eight percent in the coming year. Other experts also expect an increase of five to seven percent. "Without China, the German auto industry would hardly be recognizable," said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Center for Automotive Research in Duisburg. Mercedes suffered a global decline of 20 percent in the second quarter, but sales in China increased by 22 percent, the expert explained the situation. At BMW it looked "even more blatant": a global slump of 25 percent was offset by an increase of 17 percent in China in the second quarter.