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

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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:

1-6/2018 Brand June 2018 Jan – June 2018
  All Electric Cars 2,651 17,234
  Share of Total Car Market 0.80% 0.90%
       
1 SMART 574 3,902
2 VW 352 3,073
3 RENAULT 465 2,691
4 KIA 127 2,035
5 BMW 399 1,751
6 TESLA 282 1,254
7 NISSAN 156 974
8 HYUNDAI 126 686
9 OPEL 7 291
10 AUDI 39 157
11 PEUGEOT 70 106
12 MERCEDES 8 81
13 CITROEN 9 58
14 JAGUAR 10 43
15 FORD 0 17
16 MITSUBISHI 0 10
17 PORSCHE 6 7
18 HONDA 0 5
  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:

June Brand Model June 2018 Jan-Jun 2018
 
Total Electric Market
 2,651 17,234  
1 Renault Zoe 465 2,691
2 BMW I3 399 1,751
3 Smart Forfour 310 1,569
4 VW Golf 290 2,561
5 Smart Fortwo 264 2,333
6 Tesla Model S 200 856
7 Nissan Leaf 127 892
8 Hyundai Ioniq 126 679
9 Kia Soul 125 2,024
10 Tesla Model X 80 395
11 Peugeot Ion 70 104
12 VW Up 62 510
13 Nissan NV200 29 82
14 Jaguar I-Pace 10 43
15 Mercedes-Benz B-Class 8 80
16 Citroen C-Zero 7 45
17 Opel Ampera 7 291
18 Ford Focus 0 17
  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