Dataforce Report: Fleet Market Breaks Record - EVs and Combustion Vehicles Also on the Rise

The relevant fleet market significantly contributed to the recovery of the passenger car market in Germany with a new all-time high in 2023, while the private market shrank by 2 percent. This is the conclusion of the market research institute Dataforce for the past year. According to them, the German passenger car market grew by 7 percent in 2023. Growth among car rental companies (+14%), vehicle construction (+13%), and vehicle trade (+11%) was an approach to their market volumes before the Corona pandemic and semiconductor shortage. However, the relevant fleet market reached a new record with 976,696 new registrations, significantly surpassing the previous high of around 938,000 units from 2019. For the first time ever, more company cars were registered than private vehicles in a calendar year.

High order backlog as a reason

A key reason for this was, of course, the high order backlog. Additionally, company cars need to be regularly renewed even during economically challenging phases like last year. Private customers, on the other hand, can often postpone a replacement purchase a bit longer due to typically much lower mileage.

Despite less funding, BEVs are on the rise - but not among private purchases

The share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased from 17.8 to 18.4 percent despite reduced funding and special effects. However, private customers bought fewer electric cars both in absolute numbers (-14,343) and in percentage terms (Market Share 2022: 25.0%, Market Share 2023: 23.9%). In contrast, company car drivers and fleet managers opted for a BEV significantly more often than in 2022. The market share climbed from 16.6 to 18.7 percent. However, most vehicles were still registered under the funding valid until August.
 

Plug-in Hybrids Take a Nosedive

While market recovery also benefited gasoline and diesel cars, plug-in hybrids saw a significant drop in 2023. Overall, PHEV registrations decreased by 51 percent, with the private market capturing less than a third of the volume from 2022. December 2023 delivered an above-average market performance for the year, with a total of 241,881 new registrations. Nevertheless, compared to December 2022, this still represented a decrease of 23 percent. The spike in registrations in 2022 was due to a high number of BEV and PHEV registrations ahead of the first reduction in the environmental bonus. All channels except for vehicle manufacturing were impacted by the decline. In 2022, manufacturers delivered the scarce BEVs primarily to their end customers instead of registering the vehicles internally.

The analysis of fuel types confirms this exceptional effect, as only BEVs and PHEVs have decreased, and notably so. Different types of combustion engines, on the other hand, continue to enjoy growing demand.