New registrations remain on course for recovery in April

The German passenger car market grew by 13 percent in April. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, 202,900 new passenger cars were registered. International manufacturers achieved a market share of 38 percent. In the first four months of 2023, registrations were up 8 percent compared to the same period last year.

Reinhard Zirpel, President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK), said, “Compared to the previous year, new registrations are developing positively. We also expect a significant increase for the entire second quarter. However, this cannot hide the fact that the records of the pre-Corona years are far away.

Moreover, new registrations reflect improved supply capabilities rather than the actual market situation. The current low level of incoming orders indicates a weakening desire on the part of customers to buy cars. We could feel an impact on new registrations in the second half of the year.”

In April 2023, 29,700 all-electric passenger cars were newly registered, up 34 percent from the same month last year. In the first four months of 2023, the number of newly registered all-electric passenger cars increased by 18 percent to nearly 124,400 units. New registrations of plug-in hybrids declined significantly following the end of the environmental bonus subsidy. In the first four months of 2023, 49,300 plug-in vehicles were newly registered, a drop of 45 percent. The proportion of newly registered vehicles with an alternative drive system was 44 percent, just below the previous year (44.5 percent). Diesel came in at 19 percent, gasoline at 37 percent.

The growth in the overall market was primarily due to the strong performance of commercial registrations, which increased by 18 percent in April. The private market was only slightly up on the previous year at plus 3 percent. Private registrations as a percentage of the overall market fell from 36 to 33 percent in April.

The commercial vehicle market remained on track for growth in April with an increase of 18 percent, equivalent to 25,600 new registrations. For the first four months of 2023, growth was 14 percent. In contrast to the passenger car market, the current level of new registrations thus remains above the long-term average.