More and more people are buying an electric car. In May, sales almost doubled. But it wasn't enough to knock diesel and gasoline engines off the throne.
The boom in electric cars continues. In the first quarter of 2023, the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car for the first time. And in Germany, too, more and more customers are turning to purely battery-electric cars. But the good old combustion engine still has the edge.
In May, almost 47 percent more purely battery-electric cars were registered than in the same month last year, as the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) announced on Monday. This results in a market share of around 17 percent. Slightly more than half of the customers (53 percent) again opted for a vehicle with a gasoline or diesel engine.
Sales increase also for gasoline and diesel engines
The remainder is largely accounted for by vehicles with hybrid drives. And this despite the fact that these vehicles are no longer subsidized by the environmental bonus. "Despite the high growth rates for electric cars, we must continue to hold that the vast majority of new car buyers are turning to combustion engines," said Peter Fuß, a car expert at the consulting firm EY.
Although electric cars are increasing more and more in new registrations, the darling of the Germans is still the combustion engine. © Oliver Berg/dpa
However, a real trend reversal away from the combustion engine towards the electric car is not yet apparent. Rather, sales figures increased here as well. In the case of cars with gasoline engines, the KBA recorded an increase of almost 18 percent. Diesel vehicles increased by four percent.
Chip shortage becomes less important: delivery times are falling
SUVs remained popular with car buyers. They increased by a whopping 27 percent compared to the same month last year and were the strongest segment with a share of almost 30 percent.
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The bottom line is that around 2023,247 vehicles were newly registered in May 000. An increase of 19 percent compared to the previous year. This upward trend is likely to continue, predicts EY expert Fuß. The chip shortage is becoming less important and the supply situation is easing. As a result, many models are currently available quickly. In addition, there is a large order backlog and considerable pent-up demand from recent years. (With material from dpa
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