German passenger car market picks up, but electric vehicles are less in demand

In Germany, 281,400 cars were newly registered in March, an increase of 17 percent compared to the same month last year. Even after the first quarter of 2023, the German car market remains in the positive. A total of 666,900 new vehicles were registered in the first three months. This represents an increase of nearly 7 percent compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Despite the solid growth rate, the gap to pre-crisis levels remains significant: Compared to the first quarter of 2019, the new registrations in the first quarter of the current year are still nearly a quarter lower.

Fewer Electric Vehicles

New electric vehicle registrations declined in the month of March, with the German market for electric passenger cars down by a good 1 percent compared to the same month last year. In March of this year, nearly 60,900 electric passenger cars were newly registered. A significant drop in plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) was once again decisive for the decline: 16,800 newly registered units represented a 39 percent drop compared to March of the previous year. Registrations of new fully battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) increased by around 28 percent compared to March 2022, reaching a level of 44,100 units. Although they developed more dynamically than the overall passenger car market, they could not prevent a decline in the overall electric vehicle segment (BEV and PHEV). In the first quarter of the current year, a total of 132,400 electric passenger cars were sold, 13 percent less than in the first quarter of the previous year.

German Manufacturers Facing Problems Domestically

In the past month, order intakes from domestic markets for German manufacturers decreased once again. Compared to the same month last year, 31 percent fewer orders were recorded this March. From January to March, domestic orders fell by 35 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. Foreign order intakes in March were 3 percent below the previous year's level. Following a weak start to the year, foreign order volumes decreased by 10 percent in the first three months of this year compared to the first quarter of last year. Overall, 14 percent fewer orders were recorded this year compared to the first quarter of 2022.

Increased Production

Production levels at German automotive industry production sites in March were above those of the respective previous year's month for the eleventh consecutive time. In the past month, 441,900 cars rolled off the assembly lines, which is 67 percent more than in March 2022. However, it is important to note the extremely low comparison level: March 2022 was the weakest March in terms of production in almost 50 years. In the first quarter of this year, a total of just over 1.1 million cars were produced, representing an increase of 39 percent compared to the same period last year. Despite the positive trend in recent months – primarily due to the gradually improving supply situation of preliminary and intermediate products – production levels remain significantly below pre-crisis levels. In the first three months of the current year, 9 percent fewer vehicles were manufactured compared to the first quarter of the last pre-COVID year, 2019.