Reuters (Frankfurt) - Germany's new car market should shrink by about 6.5 percent to around 2.9 million vehicles in 2013 from 3.1 million in the current year, the German Federation for Motor Trades and Repairs (ZDK) said on Wednesday.
Citing economic forecasts from Germany's panel of economic advisers, the ZDK also anticipates used car sales next year to end up somewhere between to 6.9 million to 7 million vehicles versus roughly 7 million this year.
"Automotive aftermarket sales should stabilise on the level of 2012," the ZDK said in a statement.
ZDK represents primarily car dealers and mechanics, many of whom depend more on selling or servicing used cars rather than on the slowly shrinking new car market, where volumes in the past often hovered around 3.3 million per year.
As the average age of a car rises thanks to higher build quality, there is a growing demand for replacement parts that more and more automakers and suppliers like Volkswagen and Continental are also trying to serve as part of their automotive aftermarket business.
The sale of official parts made with cheaper materials that only need to last a few years or recycling existing parts, so-called "re-manufacturing", is less cyclical than new car sales and can often be more lucrative in terms of pure profit margins.
