April 30, 2024
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
High acquisition costs and a lack of confidence in the charging infrastructure are still deterring consumers from buying electric cars. Dena and Acatech call for expansion and information .
15 million electric cars are expected to be registered in Germany by 2030. In view of the current market development, this is an almost unattainable target, warns the German Energy Agency (Dena).
In its current "Monitoring report: New registrations of alternative drive systems in Germany in 2023", the agency draws a sobering conclusion about the market development of cars with alternative drive systems: Of 2.84 million newly registered passenger cars in 2023, almost half (1.38 million) had hybrid, fully electric or fuel cell-based drive systems. However, at only around 5 percent, the growth of these alternative drive types has slowed significantly: in 2022, it was still at 17 percent.
If only purely electrically powered passenger cars (BEV) are taken into account, the growth rate is 11 percent and therefore well below the necessary growth rates. According to Dena, if the growth in the proportion of e-cars continues at this level, only around 7 million e-cars will be put on the road by 2030, falling well short of the target of 15 million new e-car registrations. In order for the target to be achieved, the growth rate would have to return to the level of over 32 percent from 2022.
Hybrids (mild and full hybrids) were still the most popular alternative drive systems in 2023, with a total market share of 23.4 percent. BEVs took second place with a slightly increased market share of 18.4% (2022: 17.8%). A total of 2.8 million new passenger cars were registered in Germany in 2023. This is around 194,000 more passenger cars than in 2022 and corresponds to a 7.3% increase in new passenger car registrations.
Planning security and information
According to the monitoring report, Berlin is once again ahead among the federal states with a relative market share of 56% of newly registered alternative drive systems, while Bremen recorded the largest relative increase (2.3 percentage points). As in the previous year, the three most populous federal states of Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg recorded the most new registrations of cars with alternative drive systems in absolute terms.
The new registration figures for 2023 show, according to Dena, that the car market is gradually recovering from the pandemic-related slump. The first registration figures for 2024 also confirmed this observation. However, in order to achieve the climate protection targets in the transport sector, the ramp-up of electromobility in particular must be significantly accelerated. The European CO2 fleet limits are an important lever here, which also creates planning security for the automotive industry. The expansion of the charging infrastructure and the introduction of the so-called "car label", which is intended to highlight the energy efficiency and cost benefits of climate-friendly vehicles, are also important.
Electric cars still have an image problem in Germany: according to a recent Allensbach survey, only 17% of respondents are considering an electric car for their next car purchase. In 2021, the figure was 24 percent, according to the "Mobility Monitor 2024" commissioned by the German Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech). According to the survey, 60 percent of respondents consider the range of electric cars to be too short. Another 60 percent question whether electric cars are actually more environmentally friendly than cars with other types of drive. For 64 percent of respondents, these assessments are based on information from friends or colleagues. 55 percent rely on television as a source of information, 42 percent on the Internet and 35 percent obtain information from newspapers and magazines.
Progress is not being noticed
"The Mobility Monitor 2024 clearly shows that many people in Germany still need more information on the subject of e-mobility," comments Acatech President Thomas Weber on the results. "Almost half of those surveyed were not confident in answering the question about the estimated charging time of an electric car. Progress in charging infrastructure and range is also apparently not perceived by the population. We urgently need further joint efforts here to provide people with the knowledge they need to form an informed opinion."
An assessment that Dena Managing Director Kristina Haverkamp also shares: "The range of electric vehicles is increasing, but high purchase costs and a lack of charging options are still factors that often make consumers turn to alternatives, such as hybrids, or even back to petrol cars. The expansion of the charging infrastructure and information services, for example on operating costs, are therefore now particularly important for confidence in the new drive types."
Author: Katia Meyer - Tien
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