German electrical industry: orders on the rise

 

The German electrical and digital industry achieved a slight increase in August, but the business climate remains rather restrained.

In August, order intake in the German electrical and digital industry rose slightly by 1.5% compared with the previous year's figure. “With the exception of July, they have risen in five of the past six months, albeit at a slower pace recently,” says Dr Andreas Gontermann, Chief Economist at ZVEI. Domestic and foreign orders rose at almost the same rate: the former grew by 1.7% in August, the latter by 1.4% compared to the previous year.

Real production of electrical and electronic goods in Germany, adjusted for price effects, fell significantly in August 2025 by 5.6%. In terms of nominal revenues, the domestic electrical and digital industry achieved a turnover of €17.0 billion in August 2025, which was 2.1% below the previous year's figure.

After four consecutive increases, the business climate in the German electrical and digital industry slumped comparatively sharply in September 2025. Both the current situation and general business expectations were assessed less favourably than in August. “Both assessments are now back in negative territory,” comments Gontermann.

Worried about the microelectronics sector

Sarah Bäumchen, ZVEI Managing Director, warns against a shift away from microelectronics: "Sacrificing microelectronics in favour of political concerns such as mothers' pensions and restaurant tax would be an industrial policy own goal with long-term consequences for our technological sovereignty and national security. After all, it determines the resilience of critical infrastructures, the operational capability of modern defence systems and the competitiveness of entire economies.

In its own high-tech strategy, the German government has itself recognised that microelectronics is a key technology that is vital for survival. A reallocation of the funds earmarked for this purpose would send a fatal signal not only for the economic viability of our country, but also for its strategic capacity to act. Even with the subsidies currently planned, we would lose market share – while other regions of the world are massively expanding their subsidies and creating significantly more attractive conditions."

Caption: In the first eight months of this year, cumulative industry sales rose by 0.5% to €144.6 billion (image: Unsplash/ Christian Lue)

Source: ZVEI, translated from German by the editorial team.
www.zvei.org/en