The German car manufacturers have their market share in the electrical area in Germany significantly expanded at the beginning of the current year. As a study by the consulting company EY published on Wednesday shows, its market share rose to 66 percent in the first quarter of 2025, after 51 percent in the same period last year. Sales of German corporations also increased significantly during the US car maker Tesla developed particularly weakly.
In the first quarter, German manufacturers sold 79 percent more electric cars than in the same period of the previous year. “After the decline last year, the German market for electric cars is currently recovering, but the relatively high growth rates should be enjoyed with caution,” said Ey car expert Constantin Gall. In 2024, sales collapsed after the end of the environmental bonus in December 2023.
Level of 2023
In 2025, Germany could roughly reach the level of 2023 in the new registrations of electric vehicles. “So there can be no question of an electric boom,” said Gall. The proportion of electric cars in the entire car market in the early quarter of this year was 17.0 percent, that of diesel vehicles was only a little below the 15.5 percent.
However, the German car manufacturers recently performed significantly better than their international competitors. At Tesla there was a 62 percent sales minus, Chinese manufacturers recorded a low increase of 2 percent.
Had among all corporations Volkswagen im ersten Quartal die Nase deutlich vorn. The Wolfsburg car manufacturer increased its new registrations by 151 percent, its market share climbed from 26 to 47 percent. According to EY, the six best-selling e-cars all came from a Volkswagen brand in the first quarter.
Savings plans at VW
“Our unique product offensive has arrived in the market,” said VW group manager Oliver Blume (56) of the “Bild” newspaper on Wednesday. Despite the good numbers, savings must still be made. The group is working on “reducing costs,” said Blume. The top manager is currently planning to restructure the Volkswagen Group. His vision includes a stronger central, less influence of the individual brands, a reduction in board members and possibly a new role for himself. Insight into the internal developments in Wolfsburg Show research by the manager magazine.
Also the Bavarian car manufacturer BMW increased its new registrations by 49 percent in the first quarter. The Hyundai-Kia group from South Korea was in third place with plus 29 percent. Mercedes-Benz, however, had to accept a drop in sales of 30 percent.
The most popular models were in the first quarter of ID.7 and the ID.4/5 from Volkswagen. The ŠKODA ENYAQ followed in third place. The former leader, the Tesla Model Y, was passed back with 3442 new registrations and finished seventh.
Important market Are the United States next to it. According to the association of the automotive industry, almost 450,000 vehicles from German production were exported to the USA last year alone. 12 percent more than in the previous year. Almost every fourth Porsche now finds a buyer in the USA. In the case of BMW and Mercedes, the proportion was the last 16 percent, at Audi at 12 percent. And the VW brand sold 8 percent of its vehicles in the United States. Trumps Current customs policy therefore also falls back to the carmakers enormously.