While Tesla was once the undisputed leader in the electric car sector, we now see established automakers such as Volkswagen posing a serious challenge.
Volkswagen has reached a new milestone in the German electric car market. The company sold more electric cars in the first seven months of the year than the American giant Tesla. Data from the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) in Flensburg shows that the Volkswagen brand achieved 41.475 new registrations, compared to Tesla's 40.289 registrations in the same period.
It's a remarkable shift given Tesla's lead in the first half of 2023 and full year 2022. Other brands in the rankings include Mercedes with 20.613 new registrations, followed by Audi with 16.786, BMW with 15.987 and Hyundai with 15.411. In total, the KBA registered 268.926 new registrations of fully electric cars from January to July.
The emergence of Volkswagen as a dominant player in the electric vehicle market is a clear signal of the shifting dynamics in the automotive industry.
Despite the increase in sales of electric cars, the share of these vehicles remains relatively low compared to traditional petrol and diesel cars. To illustrate: Popular Volkswagen electric models, such as the ID.4 and ID.5, while surpassing the sales figures of the former petrol model Polo, lagged significantly behind the current registration figures of other models such as the Golf, Passat, Tiguan and T- Rock. Only 7,1% of all new Volkswagen registrations between January and July were for these two electric models, compared to 14,7% for the Golf.
However, it's worth noting that EV registrations at Volkswagen increased significantly in July, with the ID.4 and ID.5 combined representing more than nine percent of all new Volkswagen registrations for that month.
Looking at all types of powertrains, the VW Golf remains the most popular model among Germans, with 44.500 new registrations from January to July. Immediately following is the VW T-Roc, a compact SUV, with 42.500 registrations. As for smaller cars, the most popular model comes from Italy, the Fiat 500.
