Things have been going extremely well for the global auto industry recently. According to a study by the consulting firm EY, they have posted record sales and record profits. German corporations led the way in earnings growth in the third quarter from July to September. Volkswagen generated the highest sales, Mercedes-Benz the highest profit.

The supply of chips and other preliminary products has improved, so the auto industry has been able to manufacture and sell more vehicles again, EY said on Monday. The 16 largest car companies in the world were all able to increase their sales in the third quarter - by an average of 28 percent.

According to EY, operating profit – i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and thus profit from the actual business – also increased by 28 percent. For German manufacturers, the plus was even 58 percent, for US companies 38 percent and Japanese companies two percent. According to EY, the manufacturers' total sales and profits were at the highest level ever achieved in a third quarter.

Volkswagen led the ranking in terms of sales in the third quarter - according to EY, the Wolfsburg-based group generated sales of 70.7 billion euros from July to September. Toyota follows in second place. In terms of profit, Mercedes-Benz was ahead with 5.2 billion euros, followed by VW with 4.3 billion euros.

China was once again the engine of growth in the industry. According to EY, the sales of the manufacturers there increased by eleven percent, and those of the German car companies by as much as 28 percent. In Western Europe, on the other hand, sales fell by three percent in the third quarter.

"The bottom line is that the third quarter was a dream quarter for the auto industry, despite the slowing economy and a very difficult geopolitical situation," said EY expert Constantin Gall. However, his colleague Peter Fuss expects the situation, especially for volume manufacturers - in contrast to manufacturers of expensive cars - to come under "pressure" in the coming year. "We are currently experiencing that large sections of the population in important sales markets are having to accept a significant loss of purchasing power. This means that fewer and fewer people can or want to afford a new car."