German industrial output rises 0.7% in September as car production jumps 17.1%

Car production drives the gain

German industry, construction and energy suppliers together produced 0.7% more in September than in August, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on 6 November 2026, based on preliminary data. Reuters-polled economists had expected stagnation, according to Spiegel Online and Handelsblatt, while tagesschau put the consensus at a 0.1% decline. The surprise came mostly from motor vehicles, where output rose 17.1% on the month. Destatis said the car industry had run at a low level in July and August because of production changes and factory holidays, so the September jump partly reversed a weak summer. Pharmaceutical output added 8.0% after two weaker months. Construction fell 2.6% and machinery dropped 6.5%.

Motor vehicles17.1%

Pharmaceuticals8%

Construction-2.6%

Machinery-6.5%

Motor vehicles

17.1 %

Pharmaceuticals

8 %

Construction

-2.6 %

Machinery

-6.5 %

Data from the article text

August revised and the quarter weaker

August growth was revised down to 1.0% from the initially reported 2.0%. Destatis traced the change to supplementary figures from construction firms on their VAT advance returns. Output for the third quarter as a whole was 0.4% below the second quarter, a three-month comparison that smooths out month-to-month swings. Measured without energy and construction, industrial production rose 1.7% in September, with investment goods up 3.0%, consumer goods up 0.8% and intermediate goods up 0.1%. Energy generation fell 1.2%.

August first estimate2%

August revised1%

August first estimate

2 %

August revised

1 %

Data from the article text

Economists weigh the recovery

Sebastian Dullien of the Institute for Macroeconomics and Business Cycle Research (IMK) read the figures as a sign that the recovery is holding.

“The recovery of German industry, and with it the German economy, is intact.”

Dullien said the summer weakness in car output was partly due to school and factory holidays, and that the underlying trend looked somewhat better than some had feared. Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, argued that the September gain has to be put into perspective because of the downward revision to August. Dirk Schumacher, chief economist at KfW, cautioned against high optimism.

“Production figures are very volatile, which makes it difficult to identify the underlying trend in real time.”

Schumacher said the September figures pointed to a stabilisation of production. Alexander Krüger, chief economist at Bethmann HAL, said the car rebound did not rescue the quarter, adding that low water levels on German rivers had held output back and that more investment goods would need to be produced for orders to feed through.

Risks remain

The Federal Economics Ministry pointed to a brighter mood in industry, high order backlogs and the end of special effects that had weighed on output, arguing these support a pickup in industrial activity toward the end of the year. It warned that the still difficult geopolitical environment and a renewed rise in world energy prices keep the recovery exposed to risks. N-tv reported that drought and the effects of the wars in Iran and Ukraine had constrained production. The same outlet cited a risk from the US election results, where Democrats won in many states and a number of referendums against data centres succeeded, which could weigh on the data centre construction boom and dampen German exports to the United States somewhat.