March 2019: Tesla was the best-selling electric car brand in Germany with the Model 3 and Renault Zoe the top-selling electric car models.
January to March 2019: Tesla became the leading electric car brand in Germany at the start of 2019. Renault slipped to the second best-selling electric car brand in Germany thus far in 2019 followed by BMW and Volkswagen. The Tesla Model 3 became the top-selling electric car model in Germany in March 2019 pushing the Renault Zoe into second place with the BMW i3 still in third.
Electric Car Market in Germany in 2019 (Q1)
In March 2019, new electric passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 75% to 6,616 cars. Electric cars had a new record market share of 1.91% of the total German new car market of 345,523 (-0.5%) passenger vehicles (PKW) in March 2019.
During the first quarter of 2019, electric cars took a 1.81% share of the total German new car market with 15,901 electric passenger cars registered out of a total 880,092 cars.
As before, electric car sales in Germany were mostly determined by the availability of cars. While most manufacturers have long waiting lists, the sudden availability of the Tesla Model 3 gave a huge boost to registrations in both February and March. The first Audi e-Tron cars were also delivered to private owners. Most electric models have long waiting periods with the three months required to buy for example a BMW i3 amongst the shortest in the industry. Waiting times for other cars are nearer to a year, which certainly put private buyers off.
Best-Selling Electric Car Brands in Germany in 2019 (Q1)
New passenger vehicle registration data released by the KBA identified the following as the top-selling electric car brands in Germany in March 2019 and year-to-date 2019:
| Q1/2019 | Brand | March 2019 | Q1/2019 |
| – | Total German Car Market | 345,523 | 880,092 |
| – | All Electric Cars Sold | 6,616 | 15,901 |
| – | % Share Electric Cars | 1.91 | 1.81 |
| 1 | Tesla | 2,367 | 3,596 |
| 2 | Renault | 1,136 | 2,717 |
| 3 | BMW | 708 | 1,981 |
| 4 | Volkswagen | 333 | 1,519 |
| 5 | Hyundai | 415 | 1,454 |
| 6 | Smart | 503 | 1,281 |
| 7 | Audi | 478 | 1,040 |
| 8 | Nissan | 320 | 1,003 |
| 9 | Kia | 120 | 727 |
| 10 | Jaguar | 106 | 214 |
| 11 | Peugeot | 8 | 81 |
| 12 | Porsche | 30 | 55 |
| 13 | Mini | 33 | 49 |
| 14 | Opel | 6 | 47 |
| 15 | Mercedes | 0 | 23 |
| 16 | Citroen | 12 | 22 |
| – | Others | 35 | 86 |
| – | Source: KBA | – | – |
Note: all figures in this article refer to passenger vehicles registered for use as electric cars for the first time on German roads – numbers thus include research and promotional vehicles and not only sales to final consumers. Electric cars in KBA statistics are for battery electric cars only and exclude plug-in hybrids or cars with range-extender engines.
Top-Selling Electric Carmakers in Germany in 2019
In March 2019, Tesla was the top-selling electric car brand in Germany for the second consecutive month with more than a third of all new electric passenger vehicle registrations. Renault was again the second most-popular electric car brand in Germany followed by BMW. Smart gained one rank position while Audi improved from ninth in February to fifth in March. VW was only the seventh best-selling electric car brand in Germany in March 2019., Hyundai and Smart. VW was sixth while Nissan and Kia swapped places. Audi slipped to ninth from sixth and Jaguar entered the top ten at the expense of Peugeot.
Thus far in 2019, Tesla was the best-selling electric car brand in Germany taking the lead from Renault. BMW slipped to third followed by Volkswagen that had uncharacteristically weak sales (but performed well at the auto shows and PR events). Hyundai, Smart, Audi and Nissan were the only other brands selling more than a thousand cars in Germany during the first quarter or 2019.
Best-Selling Electric Car Models in Germany in 2019 (Q1)
According to the KBA the following where the top-selling electric car models in Germany in March 2019 and year-to-date 2019:
| March | Brand | Model | March 2019 | Q1/2019 |
| 1 | Tesla | Model 3 | 2224 | 3185 |
| 2 | Renault | Zoe | 1136 | 2717 |
| 3 | BMW | i3 | 708 | 1981 |
| 4 | Audi | E-Tron | 478 | 1040 |
| 5 | Smart | Fortwo | 371 | 814 |
| 6 | Hyundai | Kona | 284 | 975 |
| 7 | Nissan | Leaf | 227 | 817 |
| 8 | Volkswagen | Golf | 219 | 1246 |
| 9 | Smart | Forfour | 132 | 467 |
| 10 | Hyundai | Ioniq | 131 | 476 |
| 11 | Jaguar | iPace | 106 | 214 |
| 12 | Nissan | NV200 | 93 | 186 |
| 13 | Kia | Niro | 87 | 242 |
| 14 | Tesla | Model S | 82 | 260 |
| 15 | Tesla | Model X | 61 | 151 |
| 16 | Volkswagen | Up | 59 | 193 |
| 17 | Volkswagen | Crafter | 43 | 50 |
| 18 | Kia | Soul | 33 | 484 |
| 19 | Mini | Mini | 33 | 49 |
| 20 | Citroen | C-Zero | 10 | 20 |
| Source: KBA | – | – | – |
In March 2019, for the second consecutive month, the top-selling electric car models in Germany were the Tesla Model 3, Renault Zoe and BMW i3. These cars were also the leading electric car models during the first quarter of 2019.
The Audi E-Tron moved into fourth place in March 2019 with the first cars being delivered to private customers in Germany. The whole production run of the E-Tron has reportedly already been sold making registrations of the Audi, like most other electric car models in Germany, more a case of supply than demand.
Smart Fortwo sales picked up a bit in March after a slow start to the year. New investment from China may save the struggling brand that is due to go electric only in a few years time.
Registrations of the VW Golf were only eighth in March 2019. Volkswagen’s much publicised push to electrify will seemingly have to wait until 2020 when electric-only models are expected rather than electric derivatives of existing standard models.
