Electric vehicles (German market)

The main articles are:

• Electric Vehicles (European Market)
• German industry

2024: Collapse of sales of electric vehicles after the end of state subsidies

2023

Electric vehicle sales surge thanks to subsidies

Without subsidies, German electric car sales will fall 14% in 2024, according to the forecast for February

Audi, VW are among those reducing their electric car ambitions.

3rd in the world in terms of electric vehicle production in the world

80 thousand charging stations with a goal of 1 million by 2030

By June 2023, Germany is phasing out its goal of installing a million electric vehicle charging stations on streets and supermarkets by 2030 as it becomes clear that people prefer to charge at home.

Officials consider the goal outdated amid technological progress. The car lobby is pushing for more charging stations to boost sales of electric vehicles.

2022

41 public ESAs per 1,000 electric vehicles

Data for 2022

17.7% of new cars are fully electric

How soaring electricity prices are killing Germany's electric car market

Soaring electricity prices in Germany are having a negative impact on the electric vehicle market in Germany. Market participants cited by The Guardian (the article was published on September 12, 2022) warn that the increased costs make the production of electric cars more expensive, as a result of which manufacturers are forced to shift costs to consumers - transport is becoming more expensive, which makes it less attractive for people.

The rise in electricity prices (by September 2022 it had risen by a third compared to a year ago) and an increase in the cost of raw materials, as well as a chronic shortage of spare parts and a widespread reduction in people's incomes, have a significant impact on the production and sale of electric and other cars.

The cost of charging electric vehicles in Germany rose by about 10%

If this continues to happen, there are fears that this will lead to a domino effect among investors who will lose incentives to build charging stations. And this will make electric cars less attractive to operate, as they will not be practical.

It is noted that owners of electric vehicles faced an increase in the cost of charging their cars by at least 10%. And by September 2022, prices are expected to rise further due to the fact that the cost of electricity is tied to the price of gas, and it is becoming increasingly scarce after Germany refused to supply it through the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. And, if earlier the electric car charging service was provided for free to visitors to discount supermarkets and furniture stores while they go shopping, now trading enterprises introduce a fee for this service.

Allego, one of the largest charging station operators in Germany, raised its prices in early September 2022 from 43 cents per kilowatt hour to 47 cents. Express charging via current rose from 65 cents to 70 cents per kilowatt hour, while the fastest, so-called ultra-fast charging, rose from 68 cents to 75 cents per kilowatt hour.

Automotive economist Stefan Bratzel believes that such a development poses an immediate threat to the industry.

If electric cars become more expensive to use, the surge in electric mobility risks collapsing because hardly anyone is going to buy an electric car, said Bratzel, who is also the founder of the Center for Automotive Management (CAM).

Bratzel and other supporters of electric transport are calling on the German government to keep electricity prices below the price of gasoline, according to the publication. Experts also propose to increase the transport tax on diesel and gasoline cars (while electric cars are not subject to them, and can also use bus lanes and parking spaces inaccessible to cars with internal combustion engines).

Industry watchers say they don't believe the EU reform that will separate the price of electricity from the price of gas will happen fast enough.

In Norway, where the government was an early adopter of financially stimulating purchases of electric vehicles and creating a widespread charging network, 64.5% of new cars registered in 2021 were electric vehicles. According to the Association of European Automakers, Norway ranks first in terms of penetration of electric vehicles (the share of such transport in sales of new cars). Germany on this list is in sixth place on the list with a 13.6% share, and Britain is in ninth (11.6%).^[1]

2020

In Germany, sales of electric vehicles overtook diesel cars for the first time

In July 2021, 57,000 new electric vehicles were registered in Germany, bringing the total number of such vehicles in operation in the country to 1 million. Germany achieved this milestone a year later than it planned. At the same time, electric cars for the first time outstripped diesel cars in sales in Germany.

One million electric vehicles means reducing the amount of CO2 emissions by a million times in the traffic stream, because 60% of greenhouse gas emissions from road traffic in Germany occur only in cars, said Environment Minister Svenja Schulze.

She added that electric vehicles are the most efficient and environmentally friendly option in the passenger car sector. In addition, users of electric vehicles save on fuel. In the long term, charging an electric car will cost less than refueling a car with gasoline.

In Germany, sales of electric vehicles reached 1 million and overtook diesel cars for the first time

Germany's auto industry is increasingly betting on electric vehicles, with the biggest carmaker planning Volkswagen to increase its share of electric vehicles in European sales to 60% by 2030. VW alone has allocated $14 billion for battery cell orders from the Swedish manufacturer. Northvolt

The head of the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Andreas Scheuer explained that in order to achieve Germany's climate goals by 2030, there should be 14 million electric vehicles on the country's roads.

First of all, we support the expansion of the infrastructure of charging stations - both in the public and private sector - but also in relation to the modes of transport that have not yet penetrated the market, such as commercial vehicles and buses, Scheuer added.

German Economy and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier has promised to extend the bonus program until 2025 to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles.^[2]

Share of electric vehicles in total car sales

Germany obliges all gas stations to install charging for electric vehicles

In early June 2020, Germany announced it would commit all petrol stations to offering electric vehicle charging to boost consumer demand for electric vehicles as part of its economic recovery plan.

The broader incentive plan includes tax adjustments, punishing owners of large, polluting sports SUVs, as well as subsidies of €6,000 to buy an electric car.

We are striving to increase the demand for battery-powered vehicles, since it is electric vehicles that should become the technology of the future, "explained energy storage specialist The Mobility House, whose investors include Daimler and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. - Internationally, the decision puts Germany among a group of leaders supporting battery electric vehicles.

Germany announces it will commit all petrol stations to offering electric vehicle charging to boost consumer demand for electric vehicles as part of its economic recovery plan

As part of the government stimulus, 2.5 billion euros will be spent on developing the infrastructure for the production and charging of batteries. In this area, there are large oil companies, resource supplying organizations and automotive concerns, including Shell, Engie and Tesla, which are fighting for dominance in this industry.

Consumer demand for electric vehicles is low because of concerns about a limited operating range of vehicles. In Germany, electric cars accounted for only 1.8% of new passenger car sales in 2019, while diesel and gasoline cars accounted for 32% and 59.2%, respectively.

As of March 2020, there were 27,730 electric vehicle charging stations in Germany, according to BDEW, the German energy and water industry association. Creating a mass market for electric vehicles requires at least 70,000 charging stations and 7,000 fast charging stations.^[3]

Subsidies for the purchase of electric cars

• Germany is phasing out carbon fuel in favor of electric machines despite falling oil and gas costs. The government stimulates demand through subsidies for the purchase of electric cars.
• German carmakers are increasing their production of electric cars.

• Germany is paying more and more attention to the development of electric transport. This is partly dictated by Europe's general policy of avoiding "dirty" fuels - oil, gas and coal in favor of renewable alternatives.
• Germany supports demand for electric vehicles even in the face of low fuel prices. Germany yesterday agreed a new €130bn economic support package in which it doubled subsidies worth €6,000 to buy electric vehicles. The usual auto industry was left without support. Europe chooses decarbonization of power as a priority even in a crisis.

• Germany bans entry into cities on diesel. cars A Germany few years ago, bans began to appear on diesel cars with a catalyst below Euro-5 level entering some cities. Today, such a ban exists in more than 70 of the largest cities, and in some of them the standards have risen to Euro-6.
• Germany's largest carmakers are ramping up production of electric cars. For example, VW Group plans to produce 26 million electric vehicles by 2028.

• Germany plans to replace imported raw materials with alternative energy sources. It is not profitable for the country to stimulate demand for oil and gas, and with it the rise in prices for raw materials, which it does not independently produce. Germany plans to switch to the production of alternative energy, which in the future will replace exported natural resources. This will hit Russian energy export companies.

2019

For the first time, Germany became the leading country in sales of electric vehicles

For the first time in the history of the European market electric vehicles , the leading country in sales of such vehicles has changed. It rose to the first place, in Germany which 57,533 new electric cars were registered at the end of November 2019 against 56,893 in. Norway

In this Scandinavian country, every year the most electric cars were sold since at least 2010, when the model appeared on the market, Nissan Leaf notes. Bloomberg

The most popular electric cars in Norway at the end of November 2019

At the same time, Germany is strongly inferior in terms of the penetration of "green" cars. If in this country such transport accounted for 3.1% of all sales of new cars in the first half of 2019, then in Norway - about 50%. Thus, Germany's leadership is provided mainly due to the incommensurable size of the automotive markets of these countries.

According to experts, Norway could not endlessly lead in Europe in terms of demand for electric cars. One of the main reasons is the limited human resource - the population of the kingdom is only 6.4% of the population of Germany.

Globally, China remains the undisputed leader in sales of electric vehicles: from January to June 2019, 628 thousand new electric vehicles were sold there. In second place is the United States (149 thousand), and Germany closed the leading three.

Dynamics of sales of electric vehicles in Germany and Norway

The change in the leading country in sales of electric vehicles in Europe occurred against the background of the turn of such German auto giants as Volkswagen, BMW Group and Daimler, to the segment of electric vehicles in an attempt to catch up with the American and Chinese auto industries. In addition, the German authorities are working to popularize environmentally friendly transport.

It is expected that by 2023 German auto giants will triple the range of electric vehicles to 150 models and invest 50 billion euros in relevant projects by 2024.^[4]

The state pays extra €6 thousand for the purchase of an electric car

In early November 2019, the German government approved new subsidies for buyers of electric vehicles. Now you can count on a discount of up to 6 thousand euros.

Such a discount is available to those who buy an electric car worth up to 40 thousand euros. Previously, the state paid extra 4 thousand euros for it. If an electric car costs from 40 to 60 thousand euros, then motorists can save 5 thousand euros. In addition, state subsidies of 4.5 thousand euros (instead of the previous 3 thousand euros) are provided for the purchase of hybrid cars with a price tag of up to 40 thousand euros.

German government approves new subsidies for electric car buyers

No benefits apply to expensive vehicles (from 60 thousand euros and above). Thus, Germany decided to support the mass segment. Previously, subsidies were valid until the end of 2020, and now the term has been extended until the end of 2025.

The German authorities want to direct 10 million electric vehicles to German roads by 2030. Such a goal is part of the country's strategy, in which Germany seeks to catch up with the American and Chinese auto industry, which are world leaders in the field of electric cars.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the government will invest 3.5 billion euros in the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles by 2035. According to her, by 2030, 1 million charging stations should appear in the country against 21 thousand by November 2019.

Merkel noted that the introduction of electric motors should be accompanied by a gradual change in power structures, recalling the government's plan to receive 65% of energy from renewable energy sources by 2030.

Earlier in 2019, the first section of the road was opened in Germany, on which long-distance cars with electric or hybrid engines can charge their batteries directly in motion using the contact power grid above the roadway, without stopping at electric charging stations.^[5]

Notes