Global e-car fleet growing exponentially, Germany lagging behind

More than three million e-cars are registered worldwide, with 1.2 million in China, followed by 750,000 in the United States. Germany ranks eighth with 93,000 registered e-cars, says the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW). While Germany did not fare well in comparison with other countries, its e-car fleet almost doubled between 2016 and 2017, writes the ZSW. Chinese manufacturers sold most e-cars in 2017, followed by Tesla of the US and German carmakers BMW and Volkswagen. The researchers took into account battery electric drives, range extenders, and plug-in hybrids, and German statistics are based on data provided by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).

Find the press release in German here.

For background, read the CLEW factsheets "Dieselgate"- a timeline of Germany's car emissions fraud scandal and The debate over an end to combustion engines in Germany.