Sales trends for electric vehicle (xEV) models in Europe are diverging, with Germany, the region's largest market, seeing non-plug-in hybrids pull ahead of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), further widening the gap. Across Europe, has split. and PHEVs, with double-digit sales growth in the first seven months of the year.
However, sales of mass-market models have stalled, echoing the situation in Germany after subsidy cuts. Germany's decision to end BEV subsidies at the end of 2023 has led to a sharp drop in sales in 2024, while non-plug-in hybrids are gaining ground. Data from Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) shows new vehicle registrations for January through August fell 27.
8% year-over-year, with BEVs plunging 68.8%. Two factors are driving these numbers.
In 2023, pandemic-induced order backlogs pushed registration numbers higher than demand. By 2024, the market had normalized. Additionally, when the German government ended subsidies for commercial buyers in September 2023, a last-minute buying rush drove August sales up.
Since businesses constitute a large portion of BEV sales in Germany, a sharp decline followed. Industry players cite the subsidy cuts as the main driver behind Germany's BEV slump, exacerbated by a lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety, rising electricity prices, and inflation denting consumer purchasing power. Long winters and cold temperatures in Europe further dampen BEV appeal, as lithium battery ra.