Werbung
Werbung

E-car market: Tesla and Opel lose ground - BMW gains

In general, the German electric car market in 2024 has slumped significantly. Some brands were hit particularly hard, with Tesla and Opel being the losers, but also Fiat and Hyundai. Others, like BMW and Volvo, saw an increase in BEV.

Pioneer with an image problem: The political missteps of Tesla founder and owner Elon Musk also affect sales - the brand is losing ground drastically. | Photo: Tesla
Pioneer with an image problem: The political missteps of Tesla founder and owner Elon Musk also affect sales - the brand is losing ground drastically. | Photo: Tesla
Werbung
Werbung

In the weakening German electric car market, it was primarily Tesla and Opel that had to concede ground last year. In contrast, VW, BMW, and Mercedes were able to significantly gain market share, as data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority evaluated by the German Press Agency shows. Some manufacturers - including BMW and Skoda - were even able to counter the downward trend and increase their sales. 

The number of new registrations for purely battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) in Germany decreased by 27 percent to just under 381,000 in 2024. A decisive factor was likely the elimination of the state purchase premium.

The biggest losers: Tesla and Opel

No other brand suffered as much in sales of electric vehicles as Tesla. New registrations dropped by more than 26,000 to just under 38,000. This corresponded to a market share of 9.9 percent. As a result, Elon Musk's company slipped from second to third place in the German BEV market. Back in 2022, it had been at the top. Experts recently explained the automaker's weakness partly with an image problem, which also traces back to majority owner Musk and his political engagement. Musk supports the future US president Donald Trump.

Opel also took a significant hit: from nearly 28,000 to less than 8,000 electric vehicles and a market share of only 2.0 percent. The company explained the collapse upon request by stating that small cars like the Corsa Electric suffered much more from the abrupt end of subsidies than expensive models, which were already ineligible for support. Additionally, the SUV Grandland was not available as a battery version until a model change. Fiat and Hyundai also lost over ten thousand units.

The winners: BMW and Volvo

Some brands were able to withstand the downward trend, including BMW. The Munich-based company increased BEV new registrations by over 1,600 to more than 40,000. This was enough to take second place from Tesla and raise the market share by 4.1 points to 11.1. BMW has recently developed better in terms of electric cars internationally than its German competitors. 

Skoda, Seat, Volvo or Porsche were also able to significantly increase their new registrations and market shares. The largest growth was achieved by Volvo with over 5,000 BEVs, but with a total of less than 14,000 cars at a low level.

VW with a mixed electric balance

Here, the situation is mixed. VW was able to significantly increase its market share from 13.5 to 16.3 percent and consolidate its leading position. However, the new registrations fell by 8,500 to 62,000. Since the overall market shrinks more, the share still increases. A similar situation applies to number four, Mercedes. The market share increases from 7 to 8.9 percent, even though the new registrations decrease by 2,700 to 34,000. 

In contrast, competitor Audi deteriorates significantly by 8,800 to 22,000 new registrations. This also causes the market share to drop slightly to 5.7 percent, causing the Ingolstadt-based company to fall to sixth place, behind its sister brand Skoda, which improves to 6.6 percent. For the VW Group as a whole, the picture is also mixed: the market share increases by 7.2 points to 35.4 percent, but the total new registrations decrease by 13,000 to 135,000.

Translated automatically from German.
Werbung

Branchenguide

Werbung