Trend reversal at the end of the year? Electric cars are on the rise again

The Federal Motor Transport Authority has published the new registration figures for September. This shows that after a long period of lull, pure electric vehicles are becoming more popular again. However, sales figures for combustion engines are declining. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a differentiated look.

Every month the Federal Motor Transport Authority publishes the number of newly registered vehicles. At first glance, a positive trend can be seen for September. 16.5 percent of the cars registered were BEVs, i.e. vehicles that are powered exclusively by electricity.

After buyers were held back by purely electric vehicles in the past, they now seem to be increasingly enjoying electric cars again. After all, the number of registrations rose by 8.7 percent compared to September 2023. For cars with gasoline engines, however, they fell by 15.2 percent. For vehicles with diesel engines, registrations have even fallen by 22 percent. Nevertheless, pure petrol engines are still well ahead of electric vehicles with a share of 32.1 percent. Diesel vehicles are just behind at 14.9 percent. If you add hybrid vehicles to combustion engines, a completely different picture emerges.

Mild hybrid dominates

The Germans still seem to have a great soft spot for hybrid vehicles. 36.1 percent chose this type of drive in September, an increase of 3.1 percent compared to the same month last year.

Of the newly registered hybrid vehicles in September, only 7.2 percent were plug-in hybrids that are charged using an external charging source. All others were delivered as mild hybrids, in which the battery is recharged via recuperation. Such hybrids only have a very short electrical range. The combustion engine usually takes over after just a few kilometers.

The Federal Motor Transport Authority does not break down the proportion of hybrids with petrol or diesel engines. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that diesel cars, including hybrids with diesel engines, are still ahead compared to electric cars. The trend towards e-mobility, which is reflected in the increased sales of e-cars, is nevertheless positive.