Global New Registrations of Electric Cars: Germany Moves Up to 2nd Place

Germany Increases Significantly

In contrast, other nations saw rapid growth, most notably in Germany: The number of new registrations there rose from 108,530 in 2019 to 394,632. This is an increase of 264 percent – the highest growth rate worldwide. Germany now ranks second in new registrations behind China, pushing the USA to third place. France follows in fourth position, where new registrations climbed to 194,700, a growth of 180 percent. Denmark (245 percent), Italy (250 percent), Spain (136 percent), and the United Kingdom (140 percent) also show significant market growth – albeit at a much lower absolute level regarding vehicle numbers.

The electric vehicle market is developing very promisingly in many countries, particularly in the European Union, specifies Prof. Dr. Frithjof Staiß, executive board member of ZSW. The positive trend is also due to higher subsidies for electric vehicles under Corona stimulus packages and additional measures such as reduced VAT in Germany.

"Therefore, it is essential to gradually transform this support impulse into market-driven growth to efficiently achieve the federal government's goal of seven to ten million electric cars on the road by 2030," Staiß demands.

To achieve this, around one million new electric vehicles would need to be registered annually in Germany on average. The expected more ambitious new EU climate protection target is likely to require a significantly larger share of electric cars than previously targeted. The success of the past year is thus just the beginning.

Share of Total Registrations Still Low

This becomes particularly evident in the share of electric cars in total new passenger car registrations. Although this is rising significantly in many countries, it remains at a still too low level for comprehensive market penetration, often in single-digit percentages. An exception is Norway: There, 62.4 percent of new registrations in 2020 were electric vehicles, significantly more than internal combustion vehicles. Other countries follow at a considerable distance. In Sweden, the figure is 29.1 percent. In Germany, the share has risen to 10.9 percent, more than tripling compared to 2019. In China, the country with the highest absolute number of new registrations, the share is significantly lower at 6.2 percent, while in the USA, it remains around two percent.

Three German Manufacturers Among the Top 6 – Tesla Number 1

In new registrations in 2020, Tesla remains at the top with 499.600 e-cars. Closely following is the VW Group. The Wolfsburg-based automaker has almost caught up, already reaching 421,600 sold models. The Chinese company SAIC, which operates almost exclusively in its domestic market, follows in third place (254,300). BMW (192,600) and Daimler (163,000) are also in the Top Ten, particularly due to the sales success of their plug-in hybrid models, ranking fourth and sixth respectively.

Adding up all new registrations worldwide over the past years, Tesla continues to lead significantly with over 1.38 million electric cars. BYD from China remains second (916,400). VW has moved up to third place with 778,300 registered electric cars. BMW holds fourth place with 603,200. Both German manufacturers have improved significantly since 2019, but the gap to market leader Tesla is still considerable.

Model Ranking: Tesla 3 Keeps Competition at Bay, ID.3 Starts Well

Among the models, Tesla leads – the Tesla Model 3 continues to be significantly ahead with 362,800 newly registered units. Following at a distance are the Hongguang Mini EV, sold only in China and launched in 2020 (119,300), and the Renault Zoe (102,900). The best German result was achieved immediately by the Volkswagen ID.3 with 56,900 sold models (sixth place). Other German models in the Top Ten are the Audi e-tron and the plug-in hybrid VW Passat GTE. For the first time, three German manufacturers are among the most popular new registrations.

If Anything, Then All the Way: Only One PHEV Among the Top Ten

Interestingly, only one plug-in hybrid model made it to the Top Ten in the 2020 new registrations; all others are purely battery-electric vehicles. In the cumulative new registrations, three plug-in hybrid models are still among the top ten places. The top spot in cumulative new registrations is held by the Tesla Model 3: 812,900 registered units. Nissan Leaf (494,800) and Model S (308,700) follow in second and third places. So far, no German model is among the top ten cumulative new registrations.

Home Game: VW Leads in the German Market

Looking at the German market, a different picture emerges compared to the global figures: Most registrations are now held by VW models for the first time, occupying three of the top five places. The Renault Zoe still holds first place with 30,376 units, an increase of around 21,000. The E-Golf accounts for 17,438 registrations. The Tesla Model 3 comes to 15,202 vehicles, and the VW Passat GTE and VW ID.3 each have over 14,000.

"The successful catch-up race of German manufacturers in newly registered electric cars shows that they are on the right track," says Prof. Dr. Markus Hölzle, ZSW board member and head of the Electrochemical Energy Technologies business unit.

However, Hölzle believes that the domestic automotive industry still needs to make stronger efforts to keep up with the world leaders in the long term.

Recycling Gains Importance

With the increasing number of electric vehicles, recycling of battery cells will also gain importance in the future, says Hölzle. The reuse of metals like cobalt or lithium, and also graphite from batteries, is important for the sustainability of production processes and offers a cheaper access to these raw materials. Therefore, cooperation between application-oriented research and industry must be further intensified, demands the scientist.

Data Basis: Vehicles that Charge Electricity

The evaluation included passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with purely battery-electric drive or with range extenders and plug-in hybrids, i.e., all vehicles that can be charged externally. Not included were full hybrid vehicles, which drive electrically over shorter distances with a comparatively small battery but cannot be charged externally, as well as mild hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. The evaluation is based, among other things, on data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority and international authorities and associations.

While the number of electric vehicles worldwide could be captured country-specific for inventory and new registrations, corresponding data differentiated by manufacturers and models is not available globally. For this reason, the evaluation by manufacturers and models is essentially based on new registration data from the 19 largest electromobility markets. The ZSW data thus represents a conservative calculation of the actual development, as noted. Additionally, since there is no globally available data on deregistered electric cars by manufacturers and models, the term "cumulative new registrations" is used.

Niche: Number of Fuel Cell Cars Rises Globally to 28,000

While the number of fuel cell passenger cars is still at a very low level, there is movement here as well: In 2020, around 9,000 fuel cell cars were newly registered worldwide, a growth of around 17 percent. The global stock of fuel cell cars is now around 28,000. Most new registrations were in South Korea (plus 5,800). For comparison: In Germany, 382 fuel cell cars were newly registered. The stock in Germany was 1,016 fuel cell cars at the end of 2020. These and many other data regarding electromobility are available on this homepage under Data Service.