The mobility transition may have stalled in Germany, but the global number of electric cars continues to grow rapidly. One country is crucial here.
The number of electric cars continues to rise rapidly worldwide. At the end of 2023, the number was around 42 million, according to the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW). That was a good 50 percent more than a year earlier. Not only pure electric vehicles were counted, but also plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles with so-called range extenders, for which a small combustion engine is often used.
The home of electric drive is clearly China: According to ZSW, there were 23.4 million of these cars there as of the reporting date – that is more than half of the global stock. Number two is the USA, but with 4.8 million vehicles they are already far behind. Germany comes in third place with 2.3 million, ahead of France and the United Kingdom with 1.6 and 1.5 million respectively.
China’s dominance is unlikely to change much in the short term. In 2023, the stock there grew by 60 percent, significantly more than in Germany, the USA and most other relevant markets.
New impulses required in Germany
In order to achieve Germany’s goals for electromobility, the market needs new impetus, said Andreas Püttner from ZSW. “The federal government’s growth initiative to increase the promotion of electric company cars can only be a first step.” In view of tight budgets, he suggests abolishing climate-damaging subsidies for conventional vehicles – such as the tax advantage for diesel or the company car privilege for combustion engines.
The largest manufacturers of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in 2023 were the Chinese brand BYD with a good 3 million new registrations, Tesla with 1.8 million and VW with one million. BMW came in sixth with almost 570,000 vehicles, Mercedes in 10th place with a good 400,000. The ranking in terms of inventory is also likely to be similar, at least in the first three places: at least that is the case for the manufacturers’ cumulative new registrations. The inventory may differ from this, however, because cars break down or are taken out of service for other reasons. The ZSW did not provide real inventory figures by brand.
The Tesla Model Y is the world’s most common electric car
According to these cumulative new registration figures, the two most common electric cars come from Tesla: the Model Y with almost 2.5 million and the Model 3 with a good 2.3 million vehicles. However, the manufacturer also benefits from the fact that, given its rather narrow product range, purchases are concentrated on a few models. The German manufacturers fare significantly worse in this ranking: Only the VW ID.4 makes it into the top 10: with a good 510,000 cumulative new registrations, it ranks seventh worldwide.
“In order to achieve Germany’s climate protection goals, an attractive offer in the lower and middle vehicle segments is urgently needed so that a larger group of buyers can be reached,” says Püttner. If the German or European manufacturers do not fill this gap, there is a risk “that other manufacturers, particularly from China, will seize this opportunity, even if the introduction of punitive tariffs at the European level is currently trying to prevent this.”
Source: Stern
