Germany’s e-Car Race: Tesla Leads as VW Catches up

Tesla sold 36,400 cars compared to VW’s 34,400 e-cars in the first half of 2023, according to figures of the Federal Motor Transport Authority.

In the second half of the year, the battle for sales could intensify further and make electric cars significantly cheaper, according to industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer.

Tesla grabbed the top spot from VW in the German e-car market in the second half of last year. While Elon Musk’s company defended its top spot in the first half, its lead shrank from 7,400 to 2,000 cars.

The brands’ market shares were 16.5% and 15.6% respectively of the total 220,200 newly registered electric cars in Germany.

But after the top two, there is a big gap. Mercedes sold 16,900, Audi 14,400 and BMW posted 12,800 in electric car sales in the first half-year, giving them market shares between 5.8% and 7.7%.

Still, when taking all its brands into consideration, VW does not have to worry about its top spot. Apart from Audi, the group includes Skoda, which sold 7,800 e-cars in the period, seat with 5,900 and Porsche with 2,700, bringing Wolfsburg-based VW Group sales to almost twice as much as Tesla, with a 30% overall market e-car share for the VW Group.