2018 (First Half) Germany: Best-Selling Electric Car Brands and Models

June 2018: The top-selling electric car models in Germany were the Renault Zoe and BMW i3 with Smart the best-selling electric car brand.

Smart EQ at Geneva 2018

January to June 2018: Smart, Volkswagen, Renault, Kia and BMW are the best-selling electric car brands in Germany. During the first half of 2018, the favorite electric car model of the Germans was the Renault Zoe that outsold the electric VW Golf by only ten cars over the six months period. The Smart Fortwo remained the third best-selling electric car in Germany thus far in 2018 despite weaker sales in recent months.

Electric Car Market in Germany in 2018 (Half Year)

New electric passenger car vehicle registrations in Germany continue to increase although with dismal market share. In June 2018, the German new car market grew by 4.2% to 341,308 cars, of which electric cars with 2,651 registrations (+20.7%) took a market share of only 0.8%.

During the first half of 2018, new electric passenger vehicle registrations in Germany amounted to 17,234 cars – up 70% from the 10,189 electric cars registered in Germany during the first semester of 2017. The total German new car market during the first half of 2018 grew 2.9% to 1,838,031 cars.

Best-Selling Electric Car Brands in Germany in 2018 (First Half)

New passenger vehicle registration data released by the KBA identified the following as the top-selling electric car brands in Germany in June 2018 and the first six months of 2018:

1-6/2018BrandJune 2018Jan – June 2018
 All Electric Cars2,65117,234
 Share of Total Car Market0.80%0.90%
    
1SMART5743,902
2VW3523,073
3RENAULT4652,691
4KIA1272,035
5BMW3991,751
6TESLA2821,254
7NISSAN156974
8HYUNDAI126686
9OPEL7291
10AUDI39157
11PEUGEOT70106
12MERCEDES881
13CITROEN958
14JAGUAR1043
15FORD017
16MITSUBISHI010
17PORSCHE67
18HONDA05
 Source: KBA  

Top-Selling Electric Carmakers in Germany in 2018 (June)

After lagging in third place for two months, Smart again took the lead as Germany’s top electric carmaker in June. May’s leader, Renault, slipped back to second while BMW moved ahead of both Volkswagen and Kia to third.

During the first six months of 2018, Smart was the best-selling electric car brand in Germany with sales well ahead of Volkswagen and Renault. Kia, BMW, and Tesla were the only other brands with electric car sales in Germany exceeding a thousand vehicles during the first half of 2018.

Only 18 brands have actually registered electric cars in Germany thus far in 2018 – some of these may be research vehicles.

Best-Selling Electric Car Models in Germany in 2018 (Half Year)

According to the KBA the following where the top-selling electric car models Germany in June 2018 and the first six months of 2018:

JuneBrandModelJune 2018Jan-Jun 2018
 
Total Electric Market
2,65117,234 
1RenaultZoe4652,691
2BMWI33991,751
3SmartForfour3101,569
4VWGolf2902,561
5SmartFortwo2642,333
6TeslaModel S200856
7NissanLeaf127892
8HyundaiIoniq126679
9KiaSoul1252,024
10TeslaModel X80395
11PeugeotIon70104
12VWUp62510
13NissanNV2002982
14JaguarI-Pace1043
15Mercedes-BenzB-Class880
16CitroenC-Zero745
17OpelAmpera7291
18FordFocus017
 Source: KBA   

Top-Selling Electric Car Models in Germany in 2018 (June)

In June 2018, for the second consecutive month, the Renault Zoe was the top-selling electric car in Germany. The BMW i3 moved up from fourth in May to second and the Smart Forfour from fifth the third. The VW Golf slipped from second to fourth and the Kia Soul from third to ninth.

The Renault Zoe was also the top-selling electric car in Germany during the fist six months of 2018 by outselling the electric Volkswagen Golf by a mere ten units. The Smart Fortwo that led the rankings earlier in 2018 remained at third place followed by the Kia Soul and BMW i3.

Electric Car Sales in Germany

Electric Car Sales in Germany

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.