The German electric car market is a fun one. Of course, German automakers have an advantage, but they have so many models on the market that there’s quite a lot of shifting around from month to month. Sadly, Germany doesn’t really live up to its potential in this realm, though. Despite having a larger population than any other country in Europe (not including Russia, of course) and a strong economy, it is currently 4th in terms of electric car sales.
Anyhow, though, it’s fun to track. Thanks to José Pontes for rounding up the numbers month after month, below is a look at Germany’s numbers in June and for 2015 through June.
Somewhat oddly, it’s not a German model leading the crowd these days. The Tesla Model S was the most popular electric car in June (in terms of registrations), and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is #1 for the year through June (which it also is in Europe).
Though, the top models are by and large German models. The Volkswagen Golf GTE is right behind the Outlander PHEV for the first half of 2015, 3rd is the BMW i3, and 4th is the Audi A3 e-tron. Then we have the familiar all-electric Tesla Model S and Nissan LEAF.
For June, we see a similar top of the pack, but with some reshuffling, the Kia Soul EV jumping in to do some trolling, and the BMW i3 dropping to #7. Of course, the monthly numbers are so small that it’s hard to make much of them. But you can have a full look at the details in the charts and table below.
*Note that these registration numbers require some assumptions and are not all from an official source. I’ve tried to track down complete numbers in the past, but the nature of the beast these days is that they just aren’t available. I’ve also found mistakes and odd assumptions in José’s numbers in the past, but they are still far and away the best I have found aggregated on the internet. So, be cautious with how you use these sales statistics, but the general picture should be accurate and useful.
You know what’s the catch with electric cars in Germany (IMHO)? They are obsessed with autobahn speed. The most affluent part of the society feels bad if it drives less than 170km/h on the far left lane. They are crazy, I saw them at 150 even under heavy rain. I’ve been overtaken while driving 190 (with my former gas guzzler). So no matter what the 0-100 or low speed torque, a successful german car must have top speed above 200 km/h. So they keep on building PHEVs with huge ICE and small motors (compare powers of the Golf GTE with the Outlander, for example). Unless they start putting serious speed limits, it will be a tough market for plug-ins.
Interesting. I’ve seen this come up before, but it’s just hard to believe. But you make a good argument.