Tesla is no longer the best-selling electric car brand in Germany

Volkswagen overtook Tesla in the German electric car market last year. About 70,600 purely electric VW vehicles were newly registered in 2023, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) announced on Tuesday. That is an increase of 11.7 percent compared to the previous year.

The number of new Tesla vehicle registrations amounted to almost 63,700, significantly lower than the previous year (minus 9 percent). That was only enough for second place.

When it comes to the most popular electric model, Tesla continued to lead the way with its Model Y and some 45,800 new registrations. In total, around 524,200 purely electric cars will be on the road in Germany in 2023. Compared to the previous year, this is an increase of 11.4 percent. The share of all electric vehicles in all 2.84 million new registrations was 18.4 percent (2022: 17.7 percent).

If the ranking were not based on individual brands but on companies, VW would be even further ahead: In addition to 30,600 Audis, there would be 23,500 Skodas, 17,500 Seats and 5,700 Porsches. That is a total of almost 147,900 electric vehicles – which corresponds to an increase of 22 percent and a market share of more than 28 percent. Behind Tesla is the Stellantis Group – which also includes Citroën, Peugeot and Opel – with almost 71,300 electric cars.

Mercedes and BMW are also posting strong profits

Overall, the three German car companies – VW, Mercedes-Benz and BMW – were able to make strong gains in the electric segment in Germany: in 2023, the number of new registrations of electric cars from the three German companies increased by 32 percent, almost three times as much as the entire market. This is evident from an analysis by consultancy firm EY. The market share of the three companies in the e-sector increased from 38 percent in 2022 to 46 percent in 2023.

The brands of Chinese manufacturers were at a significantly lower level, but therefore stood out for their high dynamics. Their share of new electric registrations amounted to nine percent in 2023. That is twice as high as a year ago and eight times as high as in 2021.

Poor prospects for 2024

The head of EY’s Western European mobility division, Constantin Gall, said: “German carmakers were relatively late in increasing their focus on electric vehicles. But they now have a fairly broad and attractive product portfolio.”

Despite the growth, there is currently little reason to celebrate in the E segment: “On the one hand, the sector had expected stronger growth. Above all, the prospects for 2024 are quite poor. Customers remained cautious; the majority still prefer combustion engines.

According to Gall, the abrupt stop of financing for pure electric cars makes the situation even more difficult: it will lead to a significant drop in purchasing interest and lower sales figures. After the electric market share had risen steadily for years, he expected combustion engines to gain market share again in the new year.

(sda/awp/dpa)