In Germany, plug-in vehicles accounted for an impressive 35.7 percent of sales in December 2021, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounting for 21.3 percent. Germany is Europe’s biggest car market and the fifth largest in the world making it important one and is often a leader of trends that will take place in other countries.
The 35.7 percent plug-in sales during December represents a 26.6 percent increase over the same period in 2020, despite the overall vehicle market being down. This was largely due to the worldwide semiconductor shortage.
When it comes to electric vehicle model sales during December, the Tesla Model 3 was the best seller with 6,096 registrations. The VW UP! was second with 5,343 sales and the Renault Zoe rounded out the top three sellers with 4,571 units.
Overall plug-in sales in Germany for 2021 accounted for 26 percent, with 13.6 percent being all electric vehicles (EVs) and 12.4 percent were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Figures for the final quarter of the year shows the trend towards cleaner driving and probably tells a better story of where the market is heading than the year as a whole.
During this period plug-in sales represented 33.7 percent of the market, with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles accounting for 14 percent. Meanwhile, electric vehicles made up an impressive 19.7 percent of the market.
Petrol sales during the fourth quarter fell from 39.9 percent in 2020 to 33.6 percent in 2021. Dr. Maximilian Holland, international political economist, has written on Cleantechnica that he believes that with petrol sales falling they way they have they could reach zero between 2024 and 2025.
