The increase exceeded economists' forecasts of around 1.2% and was driven primarily by an 85.0% surge in large transport equipment orders, including aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles.
Excluding large orders, factory orders still increased 1.0%.
Demand for electrical equipment rose 5.7% and mechanical engineering orders gained 3.7%, although orders fell 3.8% in the automotive sector and dropped 7.8% for data processing, electronic and optical products.
Orders for capital goods increased 2.2%, while consumer and intermediate goods orders rose 2.4% and 1.4% respectively.
Foreign orders climbed 2.2%, helped by an 11.2% increase from the eurozone, while domestic orders were up 1.3%.
On a three-month basis, however, new orders between March and May slipped 0.2%, highlighting continued volatility.
Germany's economy ministry said manufacturing orders appeared to be resuming the upward trend seen since the second half of 2025, but warned geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Middle East remained elevated.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.