New registrations of purely battery electric passenger cars (BEV) fell by 30.6% year-on-year to 29,708 units in May. The BEV share of total new passenger car registrations reached 12.6%. In May 2023, it was still 17.3%. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 140,713 BEVs (-15.9%) have been newly registered, accounting for 12% of all new passenger car registrations, according to an analysis of the statistics of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) by the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK).
A total of 102,022 passenger cars with alternative drive systems (pure electric drive, hybrids with and without plugs and gas drive) were newly registered in Germany in May. This corresponds to a drop of 11.9 percent compared to the same month last year. The proportion of new registrations with alternative drive systems fell to 43.2% in May, down from 46.9% in May 2023. 512,773 new vehicles with alternative drive systems took to the roads between January and May. This corresponds to an increase of 3% compared to the same period last year. In the first five months, the share of alternative drive systems reached 43.7% after 44.6% in the same period in 2023.
New registrations of vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive (PHEV) recorded a small increase in May. 14,038 PHEVs rolled onto the roads, 1.7% more than in the same month last year. The share of new passenger car registrations rose to 5.9% (May 2023: 5.6%). From January to May 2024, 74,158 PHEVs were newly registered, which is 17.5% more than in the first five months of 2023.
Together, electric vehicles (BEVs, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles) therefore had a market share of 18.5% in May with 43,746 new registrations. This corresponds to a decline of 22.7 percent compared to May last year. Since the beginning of the year, the market for electric vehicles has fallen by 6.8%. In the first five months, 214,905 new electric vehicles were registered. The share of the total passenger car market amounted to 18.3 percent.
The VDIK regularly updates the list of electric vehicles of its member companies. The VDIK electric list can be accessed here.
Hybrid vehicles without plugs also recorded slightly negative growth of -0.7 percent in May. 57,413 new registrations correspond to a 24.3 percent share of passenger car registrations (May 2023: 23.4 percent). In the first five months of 2024, hybrid vehicles without plugs increased by 11.3% to 291,387 new registrations, with their share rising to 24.8% (January-May 2023: 23.4%).
In addition, 821 liquid gas passenger cars (-29.6%) and 32 natural gas passenger cars (-75.4%) were newly registered in May.
New registrations of combustion passenger cars reached 134,391 units in May, of which 89,498 were petrol (+2 percent) and 44,893 diesel (+3.2 percent). The share of petrol cars in passenger car registrations was 37.9 percent, while diesel cars accounted for 19 percent. Since the beginning of the year, 438,810 petrol cars (+6.3 percent) and 222,664 (+8.1 percent) diesel cars have been newly registered.
| May | January – May | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +/- (%) | Share of total car market | +/- (%) | Share of total car market | |||||
| BEV | 29.708 | -30,6 | 12,6 | 140.713 | -15,9 | 12,0 | ||
| PHEV | 14.038 | 1,7 | 5,9 | 74.158 | 17,5 | 6,3 | ||
| FCEV | 0 | -100,0 | 0,0 | 34 | -72,1 | 0,0 | ||
| Electric Vehicles (total) | 43.746 | -22,7 | 18,5 | 214.905 | -6,8 | 18,3 | ||
| HEV including: |
57.413 | -0,7 | 24,3 | 291.387 | 11,3 | 24,8 | ||
| full hybrid | 8.969 | 27,7 | 3,8 | 46.004 | 23,3 | 3,9 | ||
| mild hybrid | 48.444 | -4,7 | 20,5 | 245.383 | 9,3 | 20,9 | ||
| CNG | 32 | -75,4 | 0,0 | 122 | -80,7 | 0,0 | ||
| LPG | 821 | -29,6 | 0,3 | 6.359 | 23,8 | 0,5 | ||
| Alternative Drivetrains (total) | 102.022 | -11,9 | 43,2 | 512.773 | 3,0 | 43,7 | ||
| Petrol | 89.498 | 2,0 | 37,9 | 438.810 | 6,3 | 37,4 | ||
| Diesel | 44.893 | 3,2 | 19,0 | 222.664 | 8,1 | 19,0 | ||
| Passenger car (total) | 236.425 | -4,3 | 1.174.312 | 5,2 | ||||
Glossary:
Electric vehicles: BEV, PHEV und FCEV
BEV, Batterieelektrisches Fahrzeug, engl: Battery Electric Vehicle
PHEV, Plug-In-Hybrid, engl: Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle
FCEV, Brennstoffzellenfahrzeug / Wasserstofffahrzeug, engl.: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle
Hybride, Hybrid ohne Stecker bzw. nicht aufladbar, engl.: Hybrid Electric Vehicle
CNG, Gasförmiges Erdgas, engl: Compressed Natural Gas
LPG, Flüssiggas bzw. Autogas, engl: Liquified Petroleum Gas
Models with a maximum e-motor output of 20 KW are classified as mild hybrids, while full hybrids have a maximum e-motor output of more than 20 KW.
