Registrations: Electric cars are booming even without a subsidy

Despite the reduced purchase premium, electric cars continue to boom. In the first half of the year, more electric vehicles were sold in Germany, as the latest figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) show. 52,988 new electric (BEV) cars were registered in the reporting month, an increase of 64.4 percent compared to the same month last year. Their share was 18.9 percent. In the first six months, this type of drive showed an increase of 31.7 percent compared to the same period last year, no other type of drive achieved more growth in the comparable period, according to the KBA in a press release. In June, 78,249 new cars were equipped with a hybrid drive. This was an increase of 19.7 percent compared to the same month, and their share was 27.9 percent. 15,930 of these hybrids were plug-ins.

The plug-ins recorded a decrease of 39.2 percent, their share was 5.7 percent. The volume of new registrations of petrol cars increased by 19.8 percent, their share was 35.6 percent. Diesel-powered new cars showed a registration increase of 10.3 percent and a share of 16.7 percent. 2,111 new cars with LPG propulsion were registered – an increase of 88.5 percent compared to the same month, their share was 0.8 percent. For CNG vehicles (157 cars), the statistics showed an increase of 35.3 percent, with a share of 0.1 percent. The average CO2 emissions in June decreased by 2.3 percent and amounted to 115.1 g/km, whereas the average CO2 emissions at the end of the first half of the year were 121.0 g/km, 0.7 percent higher.

Smart revived with Geely

In total, 280,139 passenger cars (Pkw) were newly registered in June 2023, an increase of 24.8 percent compared to the same month last year. New registrations for commercial owners rose by 34.4 percent, their share was 69.3 percent. Private new registrations increased by 7.2 percent in the reporting month. In the first half of 2023, a total of 1,396,870 new cars were registered, an increase of 12.8 percent compared to the same period last year. German brands achieved positive new registration numbers in June, with the exception of BMW (-0.6%/7.0%), with Smart showing the strongest increase at 185.8 percent. Mini (+47.2%/1.7%) and Audi (+42.5%/8.9%) achieved growths of over 40 percent. MAN (+38.2%/0.1%), Porsche (+34.9%/1.2%), Mercedes (+29.9%/9.0%), VW (+22.4%/19.0%) and Ford (+14.2%/4.3%) also recorded double-digit increases in June. In the half-year balance, only Opel (-5.7%) and Ford (-4.8%) fell short of the previous year's results, all others achieved an increase in new registrations. VW was once again the strongest German brand in June 2023 with a share of 19.0 percent.

Import brands: E-pioneer Tesla marches on

Positive registration results were also reflected in the vast majority of import brands. Among the strongest import brands, Tesla had the most significant increase with 176.6 percent, accounting for 2.9 percent of new registrations in June. Volvo (+97.3%/1.5%) and Mazda (+90.0%/1.6%) each surpassed the previous year's results by 90 percent and more. Dacia (+44.9%/2.9%), Kia (+26.6%/3.0%), Seat (+24.4%/4.8%), Fiat (+23.7%/2.9%), Skoda (+19.8%/5.3%), Peugeot (+18.2%/1.6%), and Hyundai (+15.0%/3.6%) also saw double-digit growth in registrations. Renault achieved an increase of 7.3 percent with a share of 2.6 percent. Skoda was the strongest import brand in June with a share of 5.3 percent. After the first half of the year, Tesla led the import brands with a registration share of one percent or more, with an increase of 99.3 percent.

SUVs still leading - Compact cars follow at a distance

SUVs were once again the strongest segment in June with 31.4 percent – the increase in the reporting month was 31.6 percent. The compact class followed at a considerable distance with a share of 15.7 percent and an increase of 21.0 percent. Small cars (11.4%/+13.3%), off-road vehicles (10.6%/+18.1%), and mid-range cars (10.6%/+49.2%) also had double-digit shares in new registrations. Except for mini-vans, which had a share of 0.6 percent and a registration decline of 14.9 percent, all other segments showed positive results in June. The SUV segment was also the strongest segment in the half-year balance with a share of 29.5 percent.