ZVEI – German electrical exports are increasing sharply.
EU markets contribute to growth in the first half of the year
Exports from the German electrical and digital industries increased significantly in value in June 2026. At €24.5 billion, they were 18.3 percent higher than the previous year.
“Although export growth for the first half of the year as a whole was only half as high as in June, the increase of 9.3 percent to a total of €138.5 billion was also very dynamic in this more meaningful period,” said ZVEI Chief Economist Dr. Andreas Gontermann.
Imports of electrical and electronic goods to Germany rose by a fifth (+20.2%) to 25.1 billion euros in June.
From January to June 2026, total electrical imports amounted to €143.8 billion. The increase of 7.7 percent compared to the previous year was lower than that of exports.
“The sectoral trade deficit, which had already accumulated to less than five and a half billion euros in the first half of the year, was therefore also lower than in the first half of 2025,” said Gontermann.
The USA remained the largest recipient of German electrical exports in the first half of 2026. Deliveries to the United States decreased by 2.1 percent compared to the previous year, to €12.4 billion.
“Given the increasingly unpredictable nature of US tariff and trade policies, this decline actually appears quite moderate,” said Gontermann.
China follows in second place. Exports to the industry there fell by 1.6 percent year-on-year to 11.4 billion euros from January to June.
“Ranks three to nine are all occupied by EU partner countries. They ultimately drove the industry’s export growth in the first half of the year,” said Gontermann.
Deliveries to the Netherlands, the third-largest exporter, increased by 14.3 percent to €8.3 billion between January and June. Exports to France (+12.6% to €8.1 billion), Poland (+29.2% to €7.5 billion), the Czech Republic (+30.5% to €6.6 billion), Italy (+16.4% to €6.5 billion), Austria (+10.8% to €5.6 billion), and Spain (+14.0% to €5.5 billion) also showed significant increases.
In contrast, industry exports to the United Kingdom (ranked 10th) declined (-6.6% to €4.9 billion).
Regarding imports: With imports from China worth €42.8 billion in the first half of 2026, the People’s Republic is once again by far the largest supplier of electrotechnical and electronic products to the German market. In contrast to exports, imports increased by 11.0 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
Hungary is the second largest supplier, contributing imports worth €7.6 billion (-1.0% compared to the previous year). The USA ranks third (+5.4% to €7.1 billion).
Following behind are Poland (+8.0% to €6.8 billion), the Czech Republic (-5.5% to €6.6 billion), Taiwan (+10.1% to €5.4 billion), and France (+14.2% to €3.8 billion). Places eight through ten went to Vietnam (+18.3% to €3.6 billion), Japan (+7.3% to €3.6 billion), and Malaysia (+2.4% to €3.5 billion).
A comparison of the largest customer and supplier countries shows that while EU countries dominate on the customer side (7 out of 10), imports come primarily from Asian countries (5 out of 10).
“This also reflects the global production structure of the industry,” said Gontermann. “Because three-quarters of all electrical products manufactured worldwide now come from Asia, with almost half coming from China alone.”
SourceZVEI
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