After the car market in Germany recovered slightly in the first two months of this year, it plummeted again in March. Around 241,330 new cars came onto the roads last month, around 17.5 percent fewer than in March 2021, as the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) announced on Tuesday Number of new registrations declining: around 626,000 cars were newly registered in the first three months, five percent less than in the same period last year, according to calculations by the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK). According to the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the reason for the decline is still the bottleneck for electronic chips and semiconductors. The Ukraine war played no role here.
For the first time in a long time, alternative drives were also affected by the decline. The number of purely electric cars rose further by 14.5 percent to almost 34,500 units in March. With just under 27,300 plug-in hybrids, however, significantly fewer vehicles were newly registered than in the same month last year (35,600 plug-in hybrids).
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In the first quarter, the share of purely electric cars in new registrations in Germany was 13.4 percent, compared to a market share of 9.8 percent in the previous year.
Overview: The most popular electric cars in comparison
However, the major delivery difficulties of the established competition, which are also noticeable in the long waiting times for an electric car, ensure that Tesla continues to gain importance in the segment. With around 14,400 Model 3 and Model Y sold, Tesla has almost twice as many new registrations as the VW core brand. If you include group brands such as Seat, Skoda, Porsche and Audi, the VW Group can still defend its market leadership with 17,086 vehicles
But not only the VW ID.3 is losing ground in the ranking. Even hopefuls like the Skoda Enyaq or the Hyundai Ioniq 5 miss the top ten. German premium brands such as Audi or Mercedes are also not represented.
10th place: Mini Cooper SE – 2633 new registrations (as of March 2022)*
The little Brit from the BMW empire is back in the top ten. The model was newly registered around 1050 times in March alone. Every fourth Mini has been on the road electrically since the beginning of the year. Compared to the previous year, the number of electric minis sold in the first three months was slightly higher.
9th place: VW ID.3 – 2646 new registrations
The “Gulf of Electromobility” is slowly becoming a disappointment. Ongoing delivery problems even mean that the model is currently only on the home market with the handbrake on. Not even 681 copies of the Stromer were newly registered in March. Even the electric Renault Twingo was more successful with it. And last year, twice as many ID.3s were registered at the same time.
As a result, the group’s self-declared beacon of hope falls behind many electrical competitors and loses contact with the top. For a car that has aspired to be the market leader in its home market, the numbers are sobering.
VW ID.3
The model should be VW’s entry into the mass electric business.
(Photo: dpa)
8th place: Smart Fortwo EQ – 2660 new registrations
The small electric car from the Mercedes empire does not have it easy: the brand has been operating at a loss for years. Cooperation with Geely aims to change that. In addition to the small fortwo, the #1, a purely electric SUV, is also in the starting blocks.
With 945 new registrations, the Smart just passed the electric competition. However, almost twice as many cars of this model were registered last year at the same time.
Smart Fortwo EQ
The electric variant of the small Smart is one of the ten most popular electric cars in Germany.
7th place: VW ID.4 – 2955 new registrations
In China, the medium-sized electric SUV was disappointing last year, and success in Europe is currently still manageable. The chip crisis recently put such a strain on production that VW even had to impose an electrical quota on its dealers. Only large dealers will receive a significant number of electric cars for 2022.
This also explains the continued mixed registration figures on the home market. In March, 1026 ID.4s were registered in Germany. The mid-range SUV was the group’s most popular electric model in the first quarter.
VW ID.4
After the ID.3, the SUV is the second car from Volkswagen that was designed exclusively as an electric vehicle.
(Photo: dpa)
6th place: Renault Zoe – 3393 new registrations
It was a difficult start to the year for the second small electric car. After the model was punished with disastrous zero stars by Euro NCAP at the end of 2021, new registrations lag behind the successes of previous years. Recently, Renault had also imposed an order freeze for the electric models.
That too is a setback: after all, the Zoe was still the most popular electric car in Germany in 2020. In the meantime, new registrations in February have recovered somewhat compared to the previous month. 1468 copies of the French small car were newly registered in March. In the previous year, the number of new registrations up to March was 4282 vehicles.
Renault Zoe
In 2020, the French small car was still able to take the lead in new electric registrations.
(Photo: obs)
5th place: BMW i3 – 3550 new registrations
Since 2013, the group has sold almost a quarter of a million units of the electric car. In the future, BMW will rely on the electric Mini and the iX. Production of the electric bestseller is to be discontinued in June.
In the course of 2022, however, the i3 is still the most popular electric car from the brand and also leaves the fresh models behind. The BMW i3 was newly registered 1,794 times in March, moving up significantly in the ranking. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, this is a significant increase of 25 percent.
BMW i3
The small electric car is a discontinued model – but still very successful.
(Photo: dpa)
4th place: Hyundai Kona – 3905 new registrations
A Hyundai electric model clearly leaves the ambitious VW competition behind. The electric variant now accounts for more than half of the new compact SUV registrations. In 2021, the Koreans’ model was revised somewhat, but the technical basis comes from 2018. The Koreans are doing well on the German market.
In March, new registrations increased slightly compared to the previous month to 1588 copies. In an industry comparison, the model just missed the podium.
Hyundai Kona Electric
Short delivery times, cheap leasing. This also makes the Kona interesting for many German drivers.
(Photo: Reuters)
3rd place: Fiat 500 – 4644 new registrations
The electric Fiat 500 was able to hold its own at the top of new electric registrations in the first quarter. The new edition of the little Italian also did well in March. Almost every second Fiat 500 newly registered in Germany is electric.
The model was also newly registered in March 1991 – and is therefore still the most successful model among traditional car manufacturers. However, another manufacturer dominates at the front.
fiat 500
The small electric car from Italy is one of the most popular electric cars in Germany.
(Photo: Fiat)
2nd place: Tesla Model Y – 4925 new registrations
The mid-range crossover is now to be built in the Gigafactory that has just opened in Grünheide near Berlin. Currently, the majority of new registrations are still imported from China and the USA. As a result, the registration figures for the Californians in Germany fluctuate greatly – with every new ship delivery.
In March, the model stormed the rankings. 2529 new registrations were registered by the Federal Motor Transport Authority. The crossover is thus making another spurt at the end of the quarter. Only one model was more successful in March.
Tesla Model Y
The crossover model is also to be built in the new Gigafactory in Grünheide.
(Photo: AP)
1st place: Tesla Model 3 – 9483 new registrations
With 277 new registrations, the middle-class model from Tesla was not even represented in the ranking of the most popular electric cars in January, but it even led the ranking in March. The Model 3 was newly registered in Germany a total of 5,516 times and is currently by far the most popular electric car among Germans.
This should be a warning for the German car manufacturers: Because although many new models are coming onto the market, the Californians dominate the fastest growing segment in Germany – and should continue to gain momentum with the Gigafactory in Berlin.
Tesla Model 3
In March, the Model 3 was registered significantly more frequently than all its competitors and remains the leader in the ranking.
(Photo: dpa)
*As of: March 2022, source: Federal Motor Transport Authority
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