Share of battery-run electric vehicles continues strong growth in Germany since beginning of 2023

The share of fully electric passenger cars in Germany continues to grow quickly, with the number of e-car registrations growing more than 37 percent in the first seven months of 2023 compared to the same time frame the previous year, figures released by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) show. With nearly 269,000 new e-cars on the road, battery-run electric vehicles accounted for 16.4 percent of all new registrations, KBA said. A reduction in support payments for new electric vehicles meant that the share dropped to merely 10 percent in January (after reaching 33 percent in December 2022) before gradually climbing back to 20 percent by July this year. The share of all new registrations for cars with “alternative propulsion systems,” including batteries, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell cars, was nearly 46 percent of the 1.64 million new cars registered between January and the end of July — 17.3 percent more than during the same period in the previous year.

The most popular brands for fully electric vehicles were Germany’s largest carmaker Volkswagen, with roughly 41,475 units registered, and U.S. brand Tesla, with about 40,290 cars. Luxury brand Mercedes had some 20,600 new cars registered, followed by Audi (16,785), Hyundai (15,410) and Fiat (11,290). The electrification of the transport sector is key for the energy transition: switching combustion engine cars for electric vehicles is set to make a big contribution in reducing emissions in the sector, as these have remained stubbornly high for years.