Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in Germany have surged to record highs in 2021. The biggest benefactor of the rise in popularity has been Tesla, which has helped EVs take more than 12% market share in the country.
At the same time several legacy automakers, including popular local Mercedes Benz, saw declines in sales.
According to data from Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA), there were 33,420 registrations of new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in June. That is an increase of 311.6%, giving BEVs a market share of 12.2%.
Leading the way is Tesla, which recorded a meteoric rise in registrations of 431% in June compared to the same month last year.
While sales of Tesla and other “alternative drive system” vehicles rose in Germany, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales continued to decline. Sales of gas powered cars dropped 4.6% to lower its market share to 39.5%. The biggest drop was to diesel cars, which saw a massive decline in sales of 18.8% to drop its market share to 19.9%.
Among those automakers that saw declines in their sales include Honda (-30%), Ford (-27%), Mitsubishi and Volvo (-21%), Mercedes-Benz (-19%), and Jaguar (-14%).
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) also contributed to the decline in ICE vehicle sales. Registrations of PHEVs increase 191% to 31,314, enough to give it an 11% market share.
