FRANKFURT — German new-car sales rose 37 percent in August to 273,417, boosted by demand for EVs, which jumped 171 percent.
Electric vehicle registrations were helped by the impending end of incentives for business buyers on Sept. 1. Tesla had offered additional discounts for company cars registered by that date.
Smart, Jeep, MG and Suzuki saw the biggest rises among mass-market brands.
Battery-electric car registrations rose to 86,649 in Germany in August, according to data from the German motor transport authority (KBA).
The Smart brand showed the highest growth, with sales up 2,167 percent. Jeep’s volume grew by 225 percent. MG sales were up 176 percent.
Among other brands, Suzuki’s registrations rose 174 percent, Seat by 85 percent, Fiat by 71 percent, Renault by 69 percent, Kia by 49 percent, Mini by 43 percent, Opel by 39 percent, BMW by 32 percent, Mercedes-Benz by 26 percent, Audi by 22 percent and VW, by 21 percent.
VW brand remained Germany’s top-selling brand with a 18.3 percent market share.
Chinese newcomers too continued to make inroads into Europe’s No. 1 market, with BYD’s registrations at 2,034 for the month. Great Wall Motor sold 2,211 cars, while Nio sold 411 vehicles.
Losers
DS was among August’s sales losers with registrations down 25 percent. Land Rover was down 10 percent and Jaguar’s volume dropped by 2 percent.
Sales of gasoline cars increased 8.9 percent for a 27.6 percent market share. Diesel sales rose 9.2 percent for a 14.5 percent share.
Plug-in hybrid registrations fell by 41 percent.
Through August, the German market is up 17 percent to 1.91 million.