Alternative drives continue to grow in the first half of the year

New registrations of vehicles with alternative drives continued to increase in the first half of 2022. There were 548,271 new registrations of electric cars, hybrids with or without plugs, and gas-powered passenger cars. This is an increase of 2 percent compared to the same period last year. The 11 percent decline in the overall passenger car market in the first six months of 2022 leaves alternative powertrains rather unaffected, on balance.

Among alternative powertrains, 306,423 were new electric vehicles in the first half of the year. This represents a slight decline of 2 percent. Their share of the overall market has risen to 25 percent since the beginning of the year. One in four new cars therefore had an electrified drive system. Pure battery electric cars, however, continued to grow significantly since the beginning of the year. 167,200 new BEVs were registered, 12 percent more than in the same period last year. Pure electric vehicles have a 14 percent share of the overall market. By contrast, sales of plug-in hybrids fell by 15 percent to 138,900 units in the first half of the year.

In the first half of the year, 233,240 new hybrids without plugs also hit the roads. They increased by 6 percent. Among the hybrids, 36,515 were full hybrids, 96 percent of which came from VDIK brands.

Reinhard Zirpel, President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK), emphasized: “Passenger cars with alternative drives are continuing to gain ground and are becoming more and more attractive to customers. This is all the more true as they help customers to save energy costs through lower consumption and better efficiency. However, many potential customers of e-vehicles are uncertain about future subsidy conditions. The Federal Government should therefore quickly provide clarity and continue to ambitiously promote both pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

The VDIK regularly updates the list of electric vehicles from international manufacturers. The VDIK member companies currently offer around 180 electric models (passenger car and commercial vehicle models) that customers can order in Germany. The VDIK electric list can be accessed here.

In the overall passenger car market, the weighting continues to shift in the direction of alternative drive systems. In the first six months of the year, they accounted for 44 percent of the total market. Gasoline engines accounted for 36 percent. Only one in five new cars is a diesel (20 percent).