2018 (January to July) Germany: Best-Selling Electric Car Brands and Models

July 2018: The top-selling electric car models in Germany were the Kia Soul, Smart Fortwo and Renault Zoe with Smart the leading electric car brand.

White Jaguar IPace Geneva 2018

January to July 2018: The best-selling electric car brands thus far this year in Germany were Smart, Volkswagen and Renault. Germany’s favorite electric car models during the first seven months of 2018 were the Renault Zoe, VW Golf and Smart Fortwo. Electric cars share of the German new car market remained well below one percent.

Electric Car Market in Germany in 2018 (Jan to July)

New electric passenger car registrations in Germany increased by 38.8% in July 2018 to 2,526 electric cars for a market share of only 0.79%.

Thus far in 2018, electric car registration in Germany totaled 19,760 for a market share of 0.92% compared to 12,009 electric cars registered during the same period in 2017 and a market share of 0.6%

Best-Selling Electric Car Brands in Germany in 2018 (Jan to July)

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

1-7/2018BrandJuly 2018Jan-Jul 2018
 All Electric Cars2,52619,760
 Share of Total Car Market0.79%0.92%
    
1SMART5034,405
2VW3593,432
3RENAULT3203,011
4KIA4292,464
5BMW3142,065
6TESLA951,349
7NISSAN1621,136
8HYUNDAI107793
9OPEL15306
10AUDI30187
11PEUGEOT18124
12JAGUAR70113
13CITROEN2583
14MERCEDES182
15PORSCHE3239
16FORD017
17MITSUBISHI111
18HONDA05
 Source: KBA  

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

In July 2018, for the second consecutive month, Smart was the best-selling electric car brand in Germany. Smart is spearheading Daimler’s electric car move and 11% of all Smarts sold in Germany in July 2018 were electric. Kia moved into second place – its highest position thus far this year – while Volkswagen was third. Renault slipped from second in June to fourth.

Two new entries into the top-ten list of electric car registrations in Germany in 2018 are Jaguar and Porsche. The inclusion of the latter a reminder that the KBA numbers are cars registered for road use for the first time rather than sales to consumers – the numbers thus include research and demonstration vehicles too.

During the period January to July 2018 Smart was continuously the leading electric car brand in Germany followed by Volkswagen and Renault. Kia is the fourth largest electric car brand in Germany with BMW fifth.

Best-Selling Electric Car Models in Germany in 2018 (July)

According to the KBA the following where the top-selling electric car models in Germany in July 2018 and January to July 2018:

Jul 2018BrandModelJuly 2018Jan-Jul 2918
 
Total Electric Market
 2,52619,760
1KiaSoul4232,447
2SmartFortwo3872,720
3RenaultZoe3203,011
4BMWI33142,065
5VWGolf3112,872
6NissanLeaf1621,136
7SmartForfour1161,685
8HyundaiIoniq105784
9JaguarI-Pace70113
10TeslaModel S51907
11VWUp46556
12TeslaModel X44439
13CitroenC-Zero2469
14PeugeotIon18122
15OpelAmpera15306
16NissanNV200385
17MercedesVito11
18Mercedes-BenzB-Class080
19FordFocus017
 Source: KBA   

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

In July 2018, the Kia Soul was the best-selling electric car model in Germany. The Soul improved from 9th in June but it was also the top-seller in April. The Smart Fortwo was the second most-popular electric car in Germany – its highest position since March. The Renault Zoe – the top-seller for the previous two months – slipped to third. The BMW i3 narrowly outsold the e-Golf. The Jaguar iPace is a new entry in the top-ten list of best-selling electric cars in Germany.

Year-to-date 2018, the Renault Zoe remained the best-selling electric car in Germany. The VW Golf, Smart Fortwo, Kia Soul and BMW i3 were the only other models to have sold more than 2,000 electric cars in Germany thus far in 2018.

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.