Dusseldorf The number of purely electric new cars in Germany rose more sharply in March than recently. More than 44,100 battery-electric vehicles came onto the roads last month, as the Federal Motor Transport Authority announced on Wednesday. That was around 28 percent more than in the same month last year. The year-on-year growth was twice as high as in February.
The demand for so-called plug-in hybrids, on the other hand, fell significantly – by almost 39 percent to almost 16,780 new cars compared to March 2022. Experts see the reason above all in the changed funding. At the end of the year, this was lowered for battery vehicles and completely phased out for plug-in hybrids. Many consumers had therefore struck in December and preferred to buy an electric car.
At the beginning of the year, this “led to a significant dent in the electronics segment,” said Peter Fuss, partner at the consulting firm EY, on Wednesday. “The market share of electrified new cars was just 20 percent in the first quarter of this year, four percentage points lower than in the first quarter of 2022.”
Overview: The most popular electric cars in comparison
This is mainly due to the plug-in weakness. In the first three months, however, the number of new registrations for purely battery-powered cars increased by 13 percent to 94,736 vehicles compared to the previous year – and thus more than the overall market, which grew by 6.5 percent.
In a group comparison, the brands of the VW Group grew the most in Germany with 27,500 vehicles in the first quarter. The increase compared to the same period last year was 61.1 percent. It was followed by Tesla with 20,654 vehicles and an increase of 43.4 percent compared to the previous year.
At Mercedes, too, new registrations increased by 26.9 percent compared to the same period last year, at 10,671 vehicles. After all, the Swabians are among the three corporations with the most electrical approvals in Germany – but the Smart brand still has a large share in this.
All other major car companies registered significantly fewer new electric cars at the beginning of 2023 than in the previous year. BMW comes to 7005 new registrations – a minus of 16.1 percent.
Things are even worse for the big importers: Renault/Nissan electric models were registered 4,003 times (down 49.5 percent), Hyundai-Kia had 6,765 new registrations (down 30.5 percent), and the number at Stellantis fell of electric new registrations to 8316 vehicles (minus 36.2 percent).
>> Read also: When will e-cars get cheaper? These models cost less than a corresponding combustion engine
Models such as the Fiat 500, which ended up in third place in Germany in 2022 as a whole, or the Opel Corsa-e fell behind at the beginning of the year or dropped out of the list of the ten best-selling models.
In any case, the top ten has changed significantly compared to the first quarter of 2022. Only four models that ended up among the best-selling models in January of the previous year are also represented in 2023. Some long-standing bestsellers such as the Renault Zoe, the VW E-Up or the Hyundai Kona are losing importance.
From January to March 2023, these models took the top spots among e-cars – an overview:
10th place: Mini Cooper SE – 2663 new registrations (as of March 2023)*
The electric version of the Mini was recently revised optically.
(Photo: AP)
The electric Mini is back in the top ten. The little Brit with a price of 37,300 euros is not necessarily a bargain. But the model from the BMW empire is still a coveted small car because of its design and its electric version is also enjoying considerable success.
>> Read about this: Short fun – the Mini Cooper SE in the Handelsblatt car test
Although the 2022 model got a facelift, it is technically a few years old. Still, the electric variant accounts for about a third of sales.
9th place: Skoda Enyaq – 2735 new registrations
The Czechs’ first electric model is based on a good compromise between price and range.
(Photo: obs)
Customers sometimes had to wait a long time for the first electric model from the Czech VW sister company. But the buyers are apparently patient. Almost as many Enyaqs were registered in the first quarter as in the previous year.
>> Read about this: Inexpensive ID.4 alternative with small weaknesses on the long haul – the Skoda Enyaq in the Handelsblatt car test
With a price of around 42,000 euros and a range of up to 536 kilometers, the Czechs are quite successful in occupying the electric middle class. However, other models from the VW Group were even more successful.
8th place: Smart Fortwo – 3056 new registrations
The electric variant of the small car Smart is one of the ten most popular electric cars in Germany.
While many old acquaintances have said goodbye to the top ten, the electric Smart is making a surprising comeback at the start of 2023. The small car, which is now being built with Chinese help, celebrated its comeback among the bestsellers in January after months – and stayed there with 1495 new registrations in March. Year-on-year, registrations of the model have increased by 15 percent.
>> Read about this: The small cars are dying out: why Renault Twingo, Ford Fiesta and VW Up disappear
The Smart continues to be one of the most popular small electric cars. That is likely to change over the course of the year: Because Smart is currently no longer focusing on electric microcars, but on the #1 compact SUV.
7th place: Fiat 500 – 3093 new registrations
So far, the Fiat 500 has had a weak start to the year.
(Photo: imago images/TT)
The electric Fiat 500 was still the third most popular electric car among Germans in 2022. But the year got off to a difficult start for the little Italian. The new edition of the design classic was hardly registered in January, in March things went much better again with 4384 new registrations. Only two electric models were registered more frequently in the past month. In a year-on-year comparison, the small car from Stellantis in Germany is still 33 percent below the previous year’s level.
Every third Fiat 500 newly registered in Germany in 2023 is electric – although this variant is significantly more expensive. For the Franco-Italian group Stellantis, the Fiat 500 is the only model in the German top ten.
6th place: Audi Q8 – 3449 new registrations
The large electric SUV from Audi got a new name in 2023.
Audi’s first all-electric car has a new name. The large E-SUV, which previously operated under the name E-Tron, will be called the Q8 in the future. With a list price of 83,500 euros, the customer does not get a purchase bonus here either.
>> Read about this: Wellness on wheels – the Audi E-Tron Sportback in the Handelsblatt Autotest
As one of the few models, the Q8 was registered twice as often in the first quarter as in the previous year. This makes the large electric SUV one of the growth drivers in the VW Group.
Expensive cars in particular seem to have been hit far less by the premium shock in January. The Audi leaves competitors such as the Mercedes EQC (860 new registrations) or the BMW iX (707 new registrations) far behind.
5th place: Audi Q4 – 3602 new registrations
The electric mid-range model from Audi also made it into the top ten electric cars with the most registrations in Germany.
In the first quarter of 2023, the premium version of the VW ID.4 made it into the top ten electric cars with the most registrations in Germany for the first time. The increase in mid-range SUVs is 74 percent year-on-year. Overall, the group is now able to deliver its models more steadily, even if the Q4 is still one of the models with the longest waiting times on the market.
>> Read about this: The new normal Audi Q4 E-Tron in the Handelsblatt auto test
The electric Audi SUV with a price starting at 51,900 euros is now significantly more expensive than the larger Tesla Model Y, with a range of around 350 kilometers.
4th place: Tesla Model 3 – 4188 new registrations
The mid-size sedan got off to a slow start in Germany.
(Photo: Reuters)
Tesla’s mid-range model also started the year relatively weakly. In the first quarter of 2023, only half as many copies of the model were registered in Germany as in the previous year. It is not for nothing that the electric pioneer recently reduced the prices for the model. Tesla is currently concentrating primarily on its sister model, the Model Y.
With 2560 new registrations, the mass model of the US electric car manufacturer was at least a little stronger in February. And thanks to the latest price cuts, the number of registrations is likely to jump back up significantly in the coming months.
3rd place: VW ID.3 – 5285 new registrations
The electric compact model gets a facelift.
(Photo: imago images/Arnulf Hettrich)
The ID.3 from Wolfsburg should become the Gulf of electric mobility. So far it hasn’t worked properly. But the year 2023 has so far been promising for the model. Because with 2582 new registrations, the electric compact model from VW was one of the most successful electric models on the German market in March.
>> Read about this: E for expectations – the VW ID.3 in the Handelsblatt auto test
This should continue in the course of the year. The model recently received a facelift and should be available again in a basic version for less than 40,000 euros in the future. It is possible that the ID.3 can still meet the high expectations.
2nd place: VW ID.4/ID.5 – 6782 new registrations
After the ID.3, the SUV is the second car from Volkswagen that was designed exclusively as an electric vehicle.
(Photo: dpa)
In China, the medium-sized electric SUV was disappointing last year, and success in Europe was limited. The chip crisis recently burdened production so much that VW dealers could not sell as many vehicles as they wanted. In the first quarter, the mid-range SUV from Wolfsburg is one of the big winners in the electronics market. With an increase of 131 percent, registrations more than doubled compared to the previous year. The model was registered 3212 times in March alone.
In the Wolfsburg brand realm, the ID.4 is the electric bestseller and one of the reasons why VW has remained the market leader for electric cars in its home market. However, another manufacturer secured the top spot in the model comparison.
1st place: Tesla Model Y – 15,851 new registrations
The crossover model will also be built in the new Gigafactory in Grünheide.
(Photo: AP)
The electric mid-range crossover is built in the Gigafactory near Berlin and was already the most popular electric car among Germans in 2022. For the new year, Tesla boss Elon Musk increased the pressure on the competition enormously. The prices for the entry-level version of the Model Y were recently reduced by 9100 euros. There were also very favorable leasing offers.
>> Read about this: Inflated efficiency pioneer – the Tesla Model Y in the Handelsblatt Autotest
This should make the Model Y one of the vehicles with the most registrations in Germany over the course of the year – despite falling premiums. In February, only the VW Golf was registered more frequently. In the first three months of the year, almost every fifth newly registered electric car in Germany was a Model Y. With 5,701 new registrations, the model was also the most popular electric car among Germans in March.
* Source: Kraftfahrt–federal office
More: These ten e-cars are available at a low price
First publication: 04/17/2023, 07:38.