German electric vehicles sales collapse in 2024 after end of subsidy

New VW ID.Buzz electric buses are parked in a parking lot at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles plant.Sales of electric vehicles in Germany collapsed in 2024 following the cancellation of a government subsidy, official figures showed on 06 January. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

Sales of electric vehicles in Germany collapsed in 2024 following the cancellation of a government subsidy, official figures showed on Monday.

Around 380,600 electric cars were newly registered over the course of the year, 27% fewer than in the previous year, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).

Electric models represented 13.5% of all new registrations, down from 18.4% in 2023.

"The abrupt end of the state subsidy at the end of 2023 has led to massive uncertainty among potential buyers, which continues to this day," said Constantin Gall from consulting firm EY.

"Although new and attractive models are coming onto the market, sales figures are significantly lower than expected by the industry and desired by politicians," said Gall.

According to the KBA, some 2.8 million new cars were registered in Germany last year, around 1% fewer than in the previous year and around 25% fewer than in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic.

At around 224,700 vehicles, the number of new registrations in December was more than 7% below the level of the same month in 2023.