According to data from the German Engineering Association (VDMA), the sales of German photovoltaic manufacturing equipment manufacturers fell by 4% in the last three months of last year, and will fall by 19% by 2019.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2018, the order volume fell by half between October and December, mainly due to the impact of the new coronavirus.
VDMA said: "Although the photovoltaic industry has become accustomed to the fluctuations of the past few years, in view of the current impact of the new crown virus, photovoltaic equipment manufacturers seem unable to recover from the recent downturn."
Export
Last year, Germany's solar manufacturing equipment exports accounted for 97%, of which more than 90% of products were sold to Asia, thin film products accounted for 53% of sales, and battery production lines accounted for 43%.
Peter Fath said: "Although this year's coronavirus pandemic is expected to lead to a sharp reduction in solar equipment orders in Asia, other markets are determined to get rid of dependence on solar panels in the Far East."
Fath said: "Since the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, German photovoltaic engineering companies have greatly increased their consultation on the construction of global solar plants." "Domestic production, breaking the dependence on China, domestic production has become a global trend, and for our photovoltaics Machinery manufacturing provides good export opportunities. "
Fath also mentioned plans recently proposed by Norwegian solar panel manufacturer REC Group and Swiss solar production equipment company Meyer Burger to rebuild solar production in Europe. He added that VDMA is involved in promoting solar energy production.