Fully electric cars' share of new registrations reaches record 8.4 percent in Germany
Clean Energy Wire
Pure electric cars' share of new car registrations in Germany reached 8.4 percent in October as a record number of car buyers opted for alternative propulsion systems. The number of new purely electric vehicles climbed to a new record of 23,158 last month, an increase of 365 percent compared to a year ago, the country's Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA said in a press release. Registrations of hybrid cars rose almost 140 percent to 62,929 vehicles. Of these, 24,859 were plug-ins (PHEV) – an increase of around 260 percent for a total share of 9.1 percent. PHEVs' and pure battery electric vehicles', the two propulsion systems the German government counts as "electric", combined share therefore reached 17.5 percent, further approaching diesels' share, which stood at 26 percent. By far the largest number of new cars was equipped with a petrol engine (42.1 percent).
The take-up of electric vehicles has been slow in Germany in comparison to many other markets. But thanks to new government incentives, registrations have picked up sharply in recent months. Germany has been struggling to lower emissions in the transport sector, which have remained broadly stable for decades as gains from more efficient engines have been eaten up by heavier cars.
