One in two new cars had an alternative drive system in 2022

New registrations of vehicles with alternative powertrains increased 81 percent in December compared to the same month last year. For 2022 as a whole, 17 percent more electric cars, hybrids with and without plugs, mild hybrids and gas-powered passenger cars were newly registered, totaling more than 1.3 million vehicles. This gave alternative drive systems a market share of exactly 50 percent in 2022.

Due to the reduction in subsidies for electric passenger cars from January, there was a short-term, extreme increase in registration figures in December. A total of 174,200 new electric vehicles hit the roads in December. This is an increase of 114 percent compared to the same month last year. This included more than 100,000 new battery-electric cars in one month for the first time (up 115 percent). Plug-in hybrids recorded a 113 percent increase with 69,801 new registrations. These vehicles were only eligible for the environmental bonus until the end of 2022. Between January and December, more than 470,000 battery-electric passenger cars were newly registered (up 32 percent compared with 2021). In addition, more than 362,000 plug-in hybrids were newly registered, an increase of 11 percent.

In addition, 40,359 hybrids without plugs were newly registered in December (up 12 percent). For the year as a whole, there were more than 465,000, representing nearly one-fifth of all new passenger car registrations. Among the hybrids, around 73,000 were full hybrids in 2022, 96 percent of which came from VDIK brands.

Strong growth was also recorded in 2022 for passenger cars powered by liquid gas, which increased by 48 percent to 15,006 units. In addition, 835 new fuel cell cars were registered (plus 80 percent). 98 percent of these new hydrogen passenger cars came from international brands.

The VDIK regularly updates the list of electric vehicles from international manufacturers. The VDIK member companies currently offer around 200 electric models (passenger cars and commercial vehicles) 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 drives. In 2022, they accounted for 50 percent of the total market. Gasoline engines were at 32 percent, diesel at 18 percent.