In October, plug-in electric vehicles accounted for 30.4 percent of new vehicle sales in Germany, the world’s fifth-largest auto market and Europe’s largest. Full electrics expanded rapidly, with a YoY increase of almost 2 percent and a 17.1 percent market share. At 178,683 units, the overall vehicle market was down 36% from the previous year.
The total plugin share of 30.4 percent in October was a new high, with 17.1 percent full battery electrics (BEVs) as well as 13.3 percent plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), indicating a continued shift toward BEVs from recent weightings. The aggregate 2021 plugin share is now at 24.2 percent, more than double what it was at this time last year (10.9 percent).
After being overtaken by BEVs for the very first time ever in September, diesels received a temporary break from their years of fall in October, narrowly managing to outperform BEVs in portion for one last month. Of course, this will not last, and BEVs will very probably surpass diesel once more, and on a full-time basis, beginning in November and December.
Petrol’s market share fell from 42.1 percent in October of last year to 36.2 percent in October of this year. Although diesel has borne the burden of the losses from rising plugins, when diesel drops almost fully out of the way (below 10%) over the next year or two, petrol will begin to bear the weight of the losses. By the end of 2022, we can anticipate seeing the drop curve of gasoline become more obvious.
There is no KBA government data for model sales in October, as is customary. Jose’s update report will be out later this month, so keep an eye out for it. We can quantify sales for such brands that solely sell BEVs because there is gross brand sales data. In October, Smart sold 2,758 units, up nearly 40% over September. The Fortwo was the most popular model (around 75 percent of its sales). This could place the Fortwo firmly in the top five best-selling BEVs in October, if not the top three.
In October, Tesla sold 1,469 units, a low-to-no delivery month, and Polestar supplied 311 units (the same number as last month), virtually entirely Polestar 2. While we don’t yet have the most up-to-date brand data for October, let’s have a look at which models performed well “recently” in the trailing quarter that ended in September. Please note that these are not the most up-to-date numbers.
Important newcomers such as the Kia EV6 and the BMW iX have yet to make it onto the aforementioned list (and soon, BMW i4). The Mercedes EQS, which has only recently begun delivery, is doomed to remain a low-volume vehicle due to its exorbitant price.
