Germany’s Projected EV Leadership

Previously: America’s Slow Uptake of EVs

Germany has seen astronomical growth in its citizen’s uptake of EVs in the past few years. In 2017, the country sold just under 54,500 EVs in a single year. 

Five short years later in 2022, Germany sold 830,000 vehicles in a single year. The country is no longer doubling the number of EVs sold each year, but indeed is not showing any signs of letting up in its interest in electrifying its country’s vehicle population. All German OEMs have stepped up, offering a plethora of EV models to choose from. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz still lead the pack, and Tesla most recently tied BMW for 3rd place.

Infobyte: Germany Electric Car Sales

Germany is the largest EV market in Europe being home to over 2 million EVs by Q1 2023. With 833,487 units sold in 2022, Germany is still posting 22% YoY growth since selling 681,000 units in 2021. Over the past 5 years, Germany’s cumulative annual growth rate in EV sales has been an impressive 72%. It was only in 2017 when Germany sold under 54,500 EVs per year. Today, it sells more EVs in a single month.

Infobyte: Germany Electric Car Stock

Infobyte: Germany Passenger EV Sales (’000)

Infobyte: Top German States with the Most Charge Points 2021 & 2022

Brand Wars lead to Fragmentation

Due to the strength of the country’s automotive industry, up until 2021, German manufacturers held over 50% of the market share. That figure has reduced somewhat to 36% in 2022, indicating the strength of offerings provided by international brands are putting pressure on Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. As the chart indicates, an influx of models being offered to the German EV consumer has led to a fragmented market with many more brands making inroads than just one year prior.

Tesla is the only non-German brand in the top 5, and it climbed from 5th place to overtake Audi and match BMW’s marketshare in 2022 and tie for 3rd. Volkswagen sold the most EVs in Germany for a second year in a row, selling 94,067 units; but it should be noted that this is a decrease from its 2021 sales figure, when it managed to sell 108,280 units. Volkswagen was the only brand in the top 5 to sell less cars in 2022 than it did in 2021. 

With more brands, comes more models. German consumers have 60 more models to choose from than their American counterparts. Does consumer appetite grow, with more choice – or the other way around? 

Infobyte: Germany EV Sales by Brand 2021 vs 2022

Infobyte: Germany Electric Car Model Availability across Car Segments

Rolling Back Subsidies

Germany’s sudden spike in EV purchases in 2020 and 2021 is largely attributed to government subsidies and grants. You could get up to €9,000 on an electric car purchase. In 2022, the amount has decreased to €6,000. The government subsidies reduced further to €4,000 in 2023, and is expected to cut back again to €3,000 in 2024 and 2025. 

Infobyte: Germany EV Incentives

 

Infobyte: Germany’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Comparison 2022 vs 2023

Infobyte: Consumer Behavior Summary - Germany

Climate Action

German consumers stand-out from the global EV consumer, in that they rate ‘concerns about climate change’ as the 2nd highest driver to adopt electric vehicles, just under lower fuel costs. About half of German drivers say their preferred engine type on their next vehicle will be gasoline/diesel powered, but 42% say they are looking at some type of Electric Vehicle.

Germany’s Climate Action Programme 2030 aims to reduce greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030. The program includes climate-friendly transport which demonstrates how Germany plans to promote the conversion to electromobility and reach its target of having 1 million charging stations and up to 10 million EVs on roads by 2030. In 2021, the government provided €5.5 billion towards developing charging infrastructure until the end of 2024. The number of public charge points in Germany was 52,203 in 2022, and is growing strong and relatively uniformly across the country’s top 5 States. 

Charging Conundrums

Germany initially provided €300 million in funding for private chargers but topped up that amount twice and used up €800 million in subsidies. The state-owned KfW bank supported the installation and purchase of wall boxes with a €900 grant. More than 800,000 households applied for and received funding. 

 

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To read more about the state of the electric vehicles revolution in 2023 – read the full report here.