FRANKFURT (AP) -- German new car registrations rose sharply in the first five months of the year largely due to government incentives to scrap old cars to buy new ones, the Federal Statistical Office said Monday.
The Wiesbaden-based office said new car registrations rose by 22.8 percent in the January-May period as a result of the government's car scrapping program, which pays consumers euro2,500 ($3,520) if they trade in a car at least nine years old for a more efficient one.
The office said German car companies exported 1.2 million new cars in the period, a near 40 percent decline compared with the first five months of 2008.
Meanwhile, Germany imported nearly 12 percent more cars during the period than in the first five months of 2008.
