German production of motor vehicles and their components in the second half of 2018 was 7.1 percent lower than in the first half, after calendar and seasonal adjustment, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) revealed on Tuesday.

Over the same period, the manufacturing industry in Germany as a whole saw production fall by 2 percent year on year, according to the German statistical office.

Excluding the steep decline in German car production, the overall decline in production in the manufacturing sector was just 0.9 percent.

The decline in Germany's other industrial sectors, such as iron and light metal foundries, was likely to have been indirectly influenced by stalling motor vehicle production, according to Destatis.

Growth in the German automotive industry in 2019 has so far been uneven. In January, the production of motor vehicles and related components after calendar and seasonal adjustments was 4.3 percent lower than in December 2018.

In February 2019, however, production in the German auto industry had risen by 1.9 percent when compared to the previous month.

The automotive industry is Germany's most important industrial sector, with around 880,000 people employed in the industry, according to recent figures from Destatis.

The German auto sector is also linked with other sectors such as the manufacture of rubber and plastic products, metal production as well as service sectors such as trade and transport.

These linkages mean that around 1.75 million people in Germany, 4 percent of the workforce, are directly or indirectly connected with the automotive sector.