In Germany, sales of electric cars fell by 27% in 2024, in particular because of the elimination of the ecological bonus. And this risks complicating the task of manufacturers, who risk heavy fines.
If you regularly read the columns of Superchargedyou know without a doubt that the automotive industry is not in the best shapequite the contrary. In fact, it is even going through a major crisis, no one is spared. Although this is absolutely not the fault of electric cars, they nevertheless pay a very heavy price.
A drastic drop in sales
This is the case throughout the European Union and particularly in France, but not only. Indeed, with one of our neighbors, the situation is even more worrying for this engine. This is Germanywhich has shown a clear disenchantment with electric cars in recent months. And the situation is particularly catastrophic, as reported by the information on the site the Federal Road Transport Officealso known as the KBA. This sounds the alarm, as sales fell sharply last year.
Certainly, registrations of new cars, all engines combined, have fallen by 7.1%, but what about electric cars? Unfortunately, it's even worse, because this engine has fallen by 27.4% over the whole of last year, compared to 2023. An alarming figure to say the least, which had the effect of also causing the market share of these cars to fall. The latter fell to only 13.5%, compared to 19% a year ago. Let us note a dizzying fall of Teslawhose sales fell by 41%, but also Polestar, which saw its sales almost halved (-49.4%).
In total, only 381,000 electric cars were sold between January and December 2024 in Germany. A situation that can be seriously worrying, especially when compared to France, which is also going through a major crisis. Here, registrations of electric cars have decreased by 2.6% “only”with a stable market share at 16.9%. However, fewer copies were sold, with 291,143 sold last year.
But what is the reason for this catastrophic situation for the German automobile industry? In fact, it is very simple, and it has a direct link with the elimination of the ecological bonus last year. Since this measure, sales have continued to fall, and a similar phenomenon was observed in France since aid has also been reduced. For example, registrations of the Dacia Spring and MG4 have plunged since the latter are no longer eligible for the government boost.
Heavy fines expected
Certainly, Germany has put in place new financial incentives for companies, in order to encourage them to buy electric cars, but this has obviously not been enough to revive sales. Whether among our neighbors or in France, there still remains a major problem: this engine costs way too much. The price still remains a particularly important obstacle for motorists. And the arrival of less expensive models like the Citroën ë-C3, Fiat Grande Panda or Hyundai Inster should then change the situation.
And manufacturers have every interest in doing everything possible to increase their sales of electric cars. Because in addition to the fact that they must make their heavy investments profitable, the specter of CAFE regulations stands before them. If this is already in force, it will become even stricter this year. So, between 21 and 23% of manufacturers' sales must be electric cars. Otherwise, they risk particularly steep fines.
For the record, it is necessary to count 95 euros per gram of CO2 above thresholds and per car sold. Suffice to say that the bill could rise very quickly for companies that are not ready. Problem: Average CO2 emissions of cars registered in Germany last year increased by 4.2%increasing from 114.9 to 119.8 g/km in 2024.
Obviously, the percentage of electric car sales has a direct relationship with customer choices. If they do not want to buy these vehicles, it will be up to the manufacturer to assume the sanction. This is for example the case for Volkswagen, Audi and even Mercedes, which are still far from the objectives at the moment.
