Amidst the shifting landscape of Germany’s automotive industry, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) continued to show resilience in October 2023. While plug-in electric cars faced a decline in sales last month, the segment of BEVs displayed a positive trajectory, with a 4 per cent year-over-year surge to more than 37,000 registrations.

As per newly released data, last month witnessed a notable surge in new passenger car registrations across Germany, with the total reaching 218,959 units. This figure represents a commendable 5 per cent surge from the previous year. Impressively, the encouraging trend continued over the first 10 months of this year, resulting in the total number of registrations culminating at 2,357,025 units, reflecting a substantial 13.5 per cent year-over-year growth.

Unfortunately, amidst this overall positive momentum, the segment of plug-in electric cars presented a negative narrative, mainly due to fall in plug-in hybrid car sales. The collective new registrations of plug-in electric cars amounted to 53,695 units last month, marking a disheartening decline of 21 per cent from the corresponding month of 2022. This segment accounted for 24.5 per cent of the total volume, marking a notable decline from the 32.5 per cent share a year ago.

Luckily, registrations of new BEVs showcased a resilience by reaching 37,334 registrations (up 4 per cent) and claiming slightly more than 17 per cent of the market share. This positive sign followed the nearly 29 per cent decline observed in the month of September this year.

Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) continued their downward spiral, marking a decline for the 10th month in a row. Sales of PHEVs plummeted 49 per cent year-over-year to settle at 16,361 units last month. This mentioned decline in PHEV sales highlight a clear consumer preference for all-electric cars in the current automotive landscape.

Year-to-date (YTD), more than 564,000 new plug-in electric cars were registered in Germany, making up about nearly 24 per cent of total registrations. Registrations for BEVs surged 38 per cent, reaching 424,623 and claiming an 18 per cent market share. However, PHEVs experienced a 44 per cent decline, registering 139,706 units, and amounting to a 5.9 per cent market share.

During the month of October, the top three premium German automotive brands, viz. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, emerged as leaders by selling the highest number of EVs. Skoda secured the fourth position, slightly ahead of Volkswagen, which narrowly outpaced American electric car pioneer Tesla in sales of rechargeable vehicles.