China leads with over nine million electric cars, while the USA has surpassed Germany to take second place. In Germany, nearly 700,000 electric cars were newly registered last year, bringing the total number on German roads to 2,330,400. However, this falls short of the German government's target of 15 million electric vehicles by 2030. To meet this target, the annual number of new registrations would need to double or triple. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has analysed the latest electromobility data.
By the end of 2023, the global count of electric cars in circulation was nearly 42 million. More than half of these are registered in China, with the USA in second place at 4.8 million, and Germany in third. Excluding China, the highest growth rates in electric car circulation were seen in smaller markets like Belgium (71%, 192,400 vehicles) and Portugal (54%, 65,000 vehicles).
The EU is the world's second-largest market for new electric car registrations, with around 2.5 million in 2023. The USA follows in third place with 1.5 million vehicles. Norway remains the leader in market share, where four out of every five new vehicles are electric.
In Germany, the momentum gained in 2022, when new registrations rose by 22% compared to 2021, has slowed significantly. New registrations fell by 16% last year. The end of government subsidies for plug-in hybrids on 31 December 2022 contributed to this decline, along with a modest 11% growth in battery electric vehicles which did not fully compensate for the reduction. The higher initial cost of electric vehicles and Germany's relatively weak economic situation have also dampened the market.
“There is a need for new incentives in the market in order to achieve the electromobility targets in Germany – 15 million electric vehicles in circulation by 2030 – and to encourage new momentum in climate action in the transport sector. The initiative for growth proposed by the German government in greater support of electric company cars cannot amount to anything more than an initial step,” said Andreas Püttner, Staff Member, ZSW. “In view of the strict austerity budgets choking the public finances, there can be a major impetus in abolishing privileges for conventional vehicles – aka subsidies having an adverse impact on climate targets. Examples of steps which could be taken to come much closer to a 'level playing field', with the same conditions for cars with combustion engines and electric cars, would be to abolish tax breaks for fossil diesel fuels and for company cars with conventional engines, known as the diesel concession and company car concession respectively, or to limit incentives strictly to company cars powered by electricity.”
Despite the challenges in the domestic market, German manufacturers like VW, BMW, and Mercedes are performing well internationally. VW has risen to third place in global new registrations, selling over one million cars. However, there is still a significant gap compared to leaders BYD (China) and Tesla (USA), with BYD reporting sales of over three million electric cars, a 68% increase, and Tesla in second place with 1.8 million sales.
The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling model worldwide last year, with over 1.2 million units sold, followed by the Tesla Model 3 in third place. The remaining top 10 electric cars are all from Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, GAC Group, and SAIC, who are expanding their vehicle ranges.
“If Germany is to achieve its climate control goals, there is an urgent need for attractive vehicles in the lower and middle segments in order to appeal to a larger customer base. If the German and European manufacturers do not fill this gap, there is a risk that other manufacturers, especially those in China, will seize this opportunity in spite of the introduction of punitive tariffs at European level in a bid to prevent this,” added Andreas Püttner.
