But Tesla is driving away in China
German car manufacturers are selling significantly more electric cars
October 28, 2023, 7:37 a.m
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From January to September, German manufacturers sold almost two thirds more pure electric vehicles than in the same period last year. Things are also going uphill in China. However, the gap to the competition is still large.
German car manufacturers are making up ground in the sale of electric cars. According to a study by management consultancy PWC, their sales grew almost twice as fast as the global market in the first nine months of the year. Worldwide, German manufacturers increased sales of their pure battery cars (BEV) by 63 percent compared to the same period last year. The overall market grew by 33 percent.
According to the study, in China, German manufacturers improved by 39 percent, while the Chinese BEV market grew by 26 percent. They have therefore accepted the challenge and are “coming back with courageous and technically excellent models,” said PWC industry expert Felix Kuhnert.
However, the gap to the market leaders remains large: German car manufacturers together sold a good 200,000 BEVs in China from January to September. Tesla sold its SUV Model Y alone almost 280,000 times there. For next year, the industry experts at PWC expect global BEV sales to increase by 40 percent for German and 31 percent for Chinese car manufacturers.
Demand for hybrids is increasing
Unlike in Germany, demand for plug-in hybrids (PHEV) is growing strongly worldwide. In China, the USA, France, Italy and Great Britain, sales growth for cars with combustion engines and electric engines exceeded those for fully electric cars in the third quarter. According to the study, PHEV registrations in China rose by 71 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and BEV sales rose by 16 percent. In the fight for market share, plug-in hybrids could play a stronger role again in the medium term, the management consultants wrote.
They expect a north-south divide on the BEV market in Europe: In Germany, France and Great Britain, electric vehicles have reached the mass market with over 16 percent market share, but not yet in Italy and Spain with 4 and 6 percent.