The electric car has arrived. But in order to achieve the goals of the federal government, the pace would have to increase significantly. In the first quarter of 14, 3.2023 percent of all new cars were battery-powered, slightly less than in the previous year. But because the market is recovering overall, the absolute numbers are pointing upwards. In April 2023, a good third more electric cars were newly registered than in the fourth month of the previous year. The hybrid plug-in solution, in which an electric and a combustion engine work together, but the car can also drive purely electrically, is declining. Nevertheless, even without the state subsidy discontinued at the end of the year, there have been almost 50,000 units, compared to 124,476 battery-powered cars.

Boris Schmidt

Editor in the "Technology and Engine" department.

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Here there is still a reduced subsidy of up to 4500 euros for new purchases. Cars that cost more than 65,000 euros will continue to be left empty-handed. In 2024, the funding amounts will be reduced again. Only cars that are priced in up to 45,000 euros net will receive a subsidy of 3000 euros.

The manufacturer, which the German automotive managers initially did not believe was capable of, is losing market share, but continues to dominate with 23,075 units. VW lags behind with 18,811. Mercedes-Benz (9620) and Audi (9512) follow at a great distance. BMW (6157) has to settle for fifth place behind Hyundai (7178). If you lump all VW brands together, i.e. Audi, Seat, Škoda and Porsche, the group is far ahead of Tesla with 37,299 units. Anyway.

There is not much to see of the often feared Chinese offensive in 2023, which has already been conjured up by some. The Flensburg Federal Motor Transport Authority has already increased the number of brands listed in the new registration list to 57. Newcomers are Aiways, BYD, GWM, Lynk & Co, MG Roewe and Nio. Only MG Roewe, Lynk and, of course, Polestar's Swedish-Chinese cars, which have been selling for some time, achieve relevant figures and more than 1000 registrations. Aiways does not record a single one in April, so far there are 23. The situation is not much better for the other Chinese brands: BYD 111, GWM 277, Nio 161.

When looking at the individual models, the discontinued Smart Fortwo with a sixth place is a bit of a surprise. It is the number one small electric car, not the Fiat 500. Only these two, the VW ID 3, the Telsa Model 3 as well as the Mini and the Peugeot 208 in 20th place are not SUVs. This design dominates electric cars even more than it already does. Electric sedans are struggling. The highly praised BMW i4 is the most popular with 1607 units, ahead of the half-SUV Polestar 2 (1579) and the Mercedes-Benz EQE (1452), which Flensburg subsumes under the E-Class.

It is to be expected that the proportion of electric cars will continue to increase over the course of the year, if only because new models are constantly being introduced. Opel finally brings the all-electric Astra, even in a station wagon variant, Smart its small SUV. The ID Buzz has already been able to convince almost 1000 customers, but there is more to it. Other exciting innovations such as Renault R2024 or Opel Manta will follow in 5.