“The used car market for electric vehicles is currently fed primarily from the company car market.” That was the answer of Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) recently when asked how more used electric cars with cheaper purchase prices could come onto the German market. The idea behind it is simple: Since newly registered company cars are usually renewed more quickly than privately owned vehicles, a used car market quickly arises from the company cars. This “company car effect” should now lead to the prices of electric vehicles becoming more attractive and their number thus increasing on German roads. Provided that the company car user sticks to his decision to drive electrically. The 75 percent lower company car tax still helps, after all, not one percent of the new car price is added to the monthly salary, but only 0.25.
However, in addition to the used car market for electric vehicles, one must not forget that of new registrations. It is only through him that the proportion of electric cars will increase. There is still a lot of catching up to do. According to the surveys by Stefan Bratzel from the Center of Automotive Management (CAM), China clearly has the leading position in the world, ahead of the USA and Europe. Of the more than four million newly registered e-cars in the first half of 2023, 2.6 million are in the People’s Republic. Europe is in second place with 940,000 new registrations, followed by the United States with 580,000 new registrations. China was also able to increase its new registrations by 31 percent.
A key reason for the rapid development of the Chinese market for electric cars are government-created purchase incentives. Among other things, tax breaks are intended to stimulate the economy. While the United States applies comparable tax credits, declining subsidies and economic challenges are dampening the number of new registrations in Europe. In Germany, subsidies for electric vehicles for commercial buyers will be abolished as of September 1st.
Looking at the manufacturers, Tesla continues to make the most headlines. Recently, the Americans surprised with price reductions on the Chinese, and a little later on the Western markets. “The price war triggered by Tesla is having an enormous impact on the competitors, who are increasingly being forced to adjust prices,” says Bratzel, who headed the study. And further: “This increases the cost and consolidation pressure, since the margins in electromobility are low or negative for many established volume manufacturers.” Tesla’s aggressive pricing policy now seems to be reflected in the sales figures.
According to the CAM study, the Americans were able to defend their position as the top-selling e-car manufacturer in the first half of the year. With 889,000 newly registered electric cars, Tesla takes first place. Just ahead of Chinese competitor BYD, which is hot on Tesla’s heels with sales of 617,000 vehicles. “In a global comparison, electromobility is mainly driven by Tesla and BYD, which alone account for 37 percent of electric car sales in China, the USA and Europe,” says Bratzel.
The VW Group follows the two market leaders at a clear distance as the first German manufacturer with 321,000 sales in third place. After all, the increase compared to the previous year was 49 percent. For BMW and Mercedes-Benz it is not enough to be in the top ten. However, both were able to almost double their sales compared to the first half of 2022.
For 2023 as a whole, the institute expects almost ten million electric cars to be sold worldwide. Of these, six million are to be approved in China, two million on the European market and 1.2 million in the USA.
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