German Automakers Are Not Doing As Well As Their Rivals

German car manufacturers started the year with significantly worse business results compared to their international competitors, according to an analysis by the auditing and consulting company EJ (formerly Ernst & Young), which included 19 of the world’s largest automotive concerns.

The global market recorded slight growth, but the total revenue of Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW fell by 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, Wirschaftswoche reports.

In contrast, the revenues of American automakers increased by five percent, Japanese by 4.3 percent, while European competitors Stellantis and Renault recorded a jump of as much as 6.7 percent.

A large gap is also present in the operating profit (EBIT) category, where the German giants suffered a profit decline of 23.3 percent.

In stark contrast, American manufacturers Ford, General Motors, and Tesla achieved operating profit growth rates of as much as 82.9 percent.

According to experts from EJ, such strong growth of American companies is the result of the partial elimination of import tariffs, which led to large refunds for manufacturers in the United States.

The American automobile market is protected from competition from other countries thanks to various mechanisms, which further benefit local companies.

According to analysts, the entire German auto industry is currently undergoing a profound structural transformation accompanied by expensive overcapacity, high investments in software, and extremely slow momentum in the field of electromobility.

German manufacturers have a big problem in the Chinese market, where they recorded an average sales decline of as much as 16 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026.

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