According to the Ifo Institute, the German auto industry has become more confident again after a long dry spell. The business situation of vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers improved significantly in January, the institute announced on Friday in Munich as the result of its own survey.

The order backlog remains at a high level. "Automakers hope to be able to reduce their orders through higher production in the coming months," said Oliver Falck, head of the Ifo Center for Industrial Economics and New Technologies. "However, export expectations have fallen significantly," emphasized Falck.

Unlike the car manufacturers, optimism is only slowly returning to the suppliers. The assessment of the business situation is only slightly positive. Expectations remained negative despite a significant increase. 55 of the suppliers surveyed stated the lack of preliminary products and personnel as the reason.