German industrial output rose much more than expected in October, driven by booming car sales, in a further sign that the export-oriented manufacturing sector helped Europe’s largest economy to get off to a solid start in the fourth quarter. Industrial output was up by 3.2% on the month after an upwardly revised increase of 2.3% in the previous month, figures released by the Federal Statistics Office showed on Monday. That was the biggest increase since June and easily beat a Reuters forecast for a rise of 1.6%. Compared to February, the month before the COVID-19 pandemic reached Germany, industrial output was down by roughly 5%, the statistics office said. In the car industry, Germany’s biggest industrial sector, production rose by nearly 10% but was still roughly 6% below pre-pandemic levels. The surprisingly bullish October output figures chimed with data released on Friday that showed industrial orders rose more than expected on the month. Sentiment surveys and high-frequency data such as truck toll mileage have also pointed to relatively strong manufacturing activity in November despite a partial lockdown imposed to slow a second wave of coronavirus infections.