Dusseldorf The continuing bottlenecks in semiconductors, among other things, continue to weigh heavily on the automotive industry. In April, too, the number of new registrations in Germany fell significantly compared to the previous year, as the figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) show. For the first time in a long time, purely electric cars are also affected by the decline. According to the KBA, around 180,000 new cars hit the streets in April. That was almost 22 percent less than in the same month last year.
“Fewer cars were sold in Germany (since reunification) only in April 2020, at the peak of the first corona wave,” said the auditing company EY. According to the KBA, 22,175 new cars were purely electrically driven. Here the number fell by almost seven percent compared to April 2021. According to EY, however, their share of new registrations in April increased by almost two percentage points to currently 12.3 percent in the same period.
“The hope for a recovery of the German car market in 2022 is fading from month to month,” said the President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK), Reinhard Zirpel. In particular, the unclear funding situation causes confusion. “Potential customers of e-vehicles are unsure about the future funding conditions.” Zirpel called on the federal government to quickly clarify the funding and to continue funding both pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
In April, the VW Group in particular was able to report more new electric vehicle registrations. The core brand alone had 9,665 newly registered electric cars. However, the premium brand Audi made particularly strong gains, making it into the top ten of the most registered electric cars with a model for the first time in months.
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Overview: The most popular electric cars in comparison
Tesla, on the other hand, is noticeably weakening after two months of rapid growth. From a group point of view, Tesla fell to third place in the electrical market in Germany with 15,058 new registrations over the course of the year, behind the VW Group (22,144 new registrations) and Stellantis (17,352 new registrations).
However, some hopefuls are also disappointing this month: the VW ID.3 and the Opel Corsa-e do not appear in the top ten, just like the electric Mini or the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Mercedes is also not represented among the best-selling cars.
10th place: Audi E-Tron – 3,412 new registrations (as of April 2022)*
The Ingolstadt-based electric SUV has had a slow start to the year. The ongoing lack of chips has had a noticeable impact on new registrations. In April the knot seems to have burst. With 1007 registered new registrations, the model is one of the best-selling electric cars.
The VW premium brand wants to quickly add more electrically. With the Q4 E-Tron, another model is within striking distance (2527 new registrations in 2022). The E-Tron GT sports car was registered 748 times.
9th place: Smart Fortwo EQ – 3607 new registrations
The small electric car from the Mercedes empire does not have it easy: the brand has been operating at a loss for years. Cooperation with Geely aims to change that. In addition to the small fortwo, the #1, a purely electric SUV, is also in the starting blocks.
With 947 new registrations in April, the Smart just passed the electric competition. However, almost twice as many electric Smarts were registered at the same time last year. The brand has thus lost a good share of the electronics market
The electric variant of the small Smart is one of the ten most popular electric cars in Germany.
8th place: Skoda Enyaq – 3623 new registrations
The electric crossover is in great demand. Because technically the model shares a platform with the more expensive VW ID.4 and ID.5. If you order a new electric Skoda today, you have to wait up to 18 months.
Due to ongoing delivery problems, the new registrations of the model also fluctuate extremely. With 1030 new registrations in April, however, the model can make up a few positions in the ranking.
The electric crossover model can climb back into the top ten in April.
(Photo: obs)
7th place: VW ID.4 / ID.5 – 3769 new registrations
In China, the medium-sized electric SUV was disappointing last year, and success in Europe is currently still manageable. The chip crisis recently put such a strain on production that VW even had to impose an electrical quota on its dealers. Only large dealers will receive a significant number of electric cars for 2022.
This also explains the continued mixed registration figures on the home market. In March, 814 ID.4s were registered in Germany. That’s less than in March, but at least the mid-range SUV and the coupé-like offshoot ID.5 were the group’s most popular electric model in the first four months.
After the ID.3, the SUV is the second car from Volkswagen that was designed exclusively as an electric vehicle.
(Photo: dpa)
6th place: Renault Zoe – 4,135 new registrations
It was a difficult start to the year for the second small electric car. After the model was punished with disastrous zero stars by Euro NCAP at the end of 2021, new registrations lag behind the successes of previous years. Recently, Renault had also imposed an order freeze for the electric models.
That too is a setback: after all, the Zoe was still the most popular electric car in Germany in 2020. In the meantime, new registrations have recovered somewhat compared to the previous month. 742 copies of the French small car were newly registered in April, half as many as in the previous month. For comparison: In the previous year, the new registrations of the Zoe were up to April at 5550 vehicles.
In 2020, the French small car was still able to take the lead in new electric registrations.
(Photo: obs)
5th place: BMW i3 – 4730 new registrations
Since 2013, the group has sold almost a quarter of a million units of the electric car. In the future, BMW will rely on the electric Mini, the iX or the i4. Production of the electric bestseller is to be discontinued in June.
In the course of 2022, however, the i3 is still the most popular electric car from the brand and also leaves the fresh models behind. The BMW i3 was newly registered 1180 times in April. Only one electric model was more popular this month. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, this is a significant increase of 22 percent.
The small electric car is a discontinued model – but still very successful.
(Photo: dpa)
4th place: Hyundai Kona – 5022 new registrations
A Hyundai electric model leaves the ambitious VW competition far behind. The electric variant now accounts for more than half of the new compact SUV registrations. In 2021, the Koreans’ model was revised somewhat, but the technical basis comes from 2018. The Koreans are doing well on the German market.
In April, new registrations fell slightly compared to the previous month. 1117 copies were newly registered. In an industry comparison, the model just missed the podium.
Short delivery times, cheap leasing. This also makes the Kona interesting for many German drivers.
(Photo: Reuters)
3rd place: Tesla Model Y – 5202 new registrations
The mid-range crossover is now to be built in the Gigafactory that has just opened in Grünheide near Berlin. Currently, the majority of new registrations are still imported from China and the USA. As a result, the registration figures for the Californians in Germany fluctuate greatly – with every new ship delivery.
In April, Tesla customers apparently waited largely in vain for their delivery. 277 new registrations were registered by the Federal Motor Transport Authority. After two months with four-digit new registrations, this is a significant decline. Another model is passing by again.
The crossover model is also to be built in the new Gigafactory in Grünheide.
(Photo: AP)
2nd place: Fiat 500 – 6471 new registrations
The electric Fiat 500 can continue to hold its own at the top of new electric registrations. The new edition of the little Italian also did well in April. Almost every second Fiat 500 newly registered in Germany is electric.
In April, too, the model was newly registered 1,827 times – more than any other electric model in Germany. However, another manufacturer is at the top of the ranking for the whole of 2022.
The small electric car from Italy is one of the most popular electric cars in Germany.
(Photo: Fiat)
1st place: Tesla Model 3 – 9856 new registrations
If you only look at April, Tesla’s mid-range model would not even be in the top ten. With 373 new registrations, even fewer copies were registered than in the same month last year. Compared to March, when Tesla could even announce 5516 new registrations, this is a massive slump. Calculated over the year as a whole, the Model 3 remains by far the most popular electric car among Germans.
This should be a warning for the German car manufacturers: Because although many new models are coming onto the market, the Californians continue to dominate the fastest growing segment in Germany – and should continue to gain momentum with the Gigafactory in Berlin.
In March, the Model 3 was registered significantly more frequently than all its competitors and is the leader in the ranking.
(Photo: dpa)
*As of April 2022, source: Kraftfahrt-Bwhole
More: No Tesla, lots of VW – these ten car models were particularly in demand in 2021