The number of electric cars has continued to rise rapidly globally, as shown by the latest research in Germany, Europe’s largest economy just as the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) reported that there were about 42 million cars with electric motors at the end of 2023- 50 percent higher than the previous year.
As reported by the German News Service (delivered by dpa) the figure includes purely electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles with a range extender with the ZSW confirming that there were 23.4 million of the cars in China, which translates to over half of the global stock.
While the United States ranks second, the figures showed that it fell far behind with 4.8 million vehicles; while Germany, in third position with 2.3 million, leaped ahead of France and the United Kingdom with 1.6 and 1.5 million respectively.
China’s dominance is unlikely to change much in the short-term, with growth there at 60 percent compared to last year-significantly stronger than in other major markets.
To achieve the German targets for electro-mobility, the market needs new impetus, said Andreas Püttner from ZSW, adding: “The German government’s growth initiative to increase the promotion of electric company cars can only be a first step.”
He suggested abolishing subsidies for conventional vehicles – such as the tax advantage for diesel or the company car privilege for combustion engines.
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The largest manufacturers of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in 2023 were the Chinese brand BYD with just over 3 million new registrations, Tesla with 1.8 million and VW with 1 million, as BMW made the sixth place with just under 570,000 vehicles and Mercedes in 10th place with just over 400,000.
According to cumulative new registration figures, the two most common cars with an electric drive both come from electric car pioneer Tesla: the Model Y with almost 2.5 million vehicles and the Model 3 with a good 2.3 million vehicles.
However, the manufacturer also benefits from the fact that purchases are concentrated on just a few models, just as the latest research in Germany reveals that the number of electric cars will continue to rise rapidly worldwide.
PHOTO CAPTION FOR GERMAN ELECTRIC CAR STORY
A car charges at a station in Lower Saxony’s largest charging park for electric cars in Norddeich
