FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Shares of German carmakers rose significantly in some cases on Monday. Despite a decline in sales figures in the final quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year, due mainly to weakness in China, these met with a largely positive response on the market.

While the VW sports car subsidiary Porsche AG sold 3 percent fewer vehicles than in the previous year, Audi's decline was 12 percent. As a result, Porsche's sister company fell further behind its premium competitors Mercedes-Benz and BMW, whose sales each fell by only 4 percent.

Porsche shares were among the top-performing stocks on the DAX, rising 2.1 percent. This ended a three-day losing streak. In view of Audi's weak figures, the common parent company Volkswagen only managed a 0.6 percent share price increase. Shares in Mercedes-Benz rose by a further 1 percent after the recovery that began on Friday, while BMW stocks, which were down 0.3 percent at the beginning of the week, performed in line with the Dax.

Porsche sales were solid thanks to strong demand for the Macan, commented Barclays expert Hennig Cosman. The picture for sales and costs over the year as a whole remains unclear and the experts' expectations are generally too ambitious. However, Cosman believes that the bottom has almost been reached. He recalled his "overweight" recommendation for the shares, which he first issued at the beginning of December, with a target price of 70 euros.

UBS expert Patrick Hummel commented that Porsche's sales prove that, as expected, the sports carmaker's sales figures have improved compared to the third quarter. The cash inflow of 1.6 billion euros is likely to have reached the annual record. Hummel is still skeptical with regard to 2025. He does not expect a significant improvement in margins compared to the restrained previous year./gl/ajx/he