BERLIN (AP) -- German car exports were up 58 percent on the year in April as major global markets regained momentum, even as a decline in new registrations at home continued, an industry group said Tuesday.
Germany exported 338,800 cars last month, according to the VDA group, which represents automakers. The year-on-year increase compared with a rise of 51 percent in March.
Orders from abroad were up 30 percent in April, VDA said.
Sales in Germany itself have been slipping in year-on-year terms for months, after a popular government car-scrapping program expired.
New registrations of all cars, German and otherwise, were down nearly 32 percent in April at 259,500 -- following a slide of about 27 percent the previous March.
Still, VDA said three-quarters of cars produced in Germany are now sold abroad -- and the improvement in exports boosted production. It was up 26 percent in April to 469,400 cars.
Germany is home to car makers such as Daimler AG, Porsche SE, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG.
Daimler said Tuesday its core Mercedes-Benz unit was ending immediately an arrangement under which employees at two German plants, in Bremen and Rastatt, had been on reduced hours to compensate for lower demand. That had been in place since last year.
The company cited improving worldwide markets for premium cars.
