Germany has lost its position as Europe's leading BEV market
- As a result of the end of subsidies in Germany for the purchase of BEVs at the end of last year, this country has fallen behind the United Kingdom on the BEV market over the cumulative 3 months of 2024.
- The United Kingdom registered 84,314 BEVs over this period while Germany registered 81,337, just a little more than France (79,823 units). PHEV sales do not offset the losses on BEV sales as the United Kingdom registered 42,559 PHEVs during the first quarter of 2024 while Germany registered 44,985, which implies that the United Kingdom registered 126,873 plug-in vehicles (BEV+PHEV) while Germany registered 126,322.
- Certainly, the gap between the two countries is quite small – especially since the month of March is traditionally a important month in the United Kingdom in terms of registrations – but it is the first time since 2020 that Germany is no longer the European leader in sales of BEVs and plug-in vehicles (BEV+PHEV). However, we should wait for the results of the first 6 months of 2024 to see if this situation continues or if the first quarter of 2024 was just temporary.
- If we look at the overall market (all motorisation included), Germany and the United Kingdom were growing in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023, as the German market is growing by 4.2% over the period and the United Kingdom by 10.4%. The entire European market (31 countries) increased by 4.9% (France +5.7%, Italy +5.7%, Spain +3.1%, Poland +12.7%).