Tesla, Alfa Romeo, Mini gain as German sales rise 13% in April

FRANKFURT — German passenger car sales rose 13 percent in April as delivery bottlenecks eased and demand for battery-electric cars continued to rise.

Registrations were 202,947, according to data from the KBA motor transport authority.

Sales of full-electric cars increased 34 percent to 29,740, despite the fact that government subsidies for battery-electric cars were significantly reduced in January. Full-electric cars had a 14.7 percent market share.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations fell 46 percent for a 5.8 percent share. Government incentives for plug-in hybrids were dropped entirely in January.

Gasoline cars are still the biggest sellers in Germany, with sales up 18 percent for a 37.7 percent market share. Diesel sales rose 2.4 percent for a 17.8 percent share.

The VDIK importers association said the growth in the overall market was primarily attributable to strong business fleet sales, which increased by 18 percent.

The private market was only slightly up on the previous year at 3 percent, the VDIK said. The share of private registrations in the overall market fell to 33 percent from from 36 percent.

Winners and losers

Tesla’s German registrations were up 272 percent to 2,420 for a 1.2 percent share. Other monthly winners included Alfa Romeo, up 163 percent; Mini, up 70 percent; Dacia, up 54 percent; and Seat, up 53 percent.

• Download PDF here for German sales by brand

Market leader Volkswagen brand’s volume was up 24 percent, while registrations of No. 2 Mercedes-Benz rose 27 percent. No, 3 Audi gained 25 percent and No. 4 BMW rose 4.4 percent. Sales of Skoda, the fifth best-selling brand, increased 33 percent.

Among automakers whose sales fell were Mitsubishi, down 61 percent; Fiat, down 21 percent; Ford, down 19 percent; Toyota, down 18 percent; Citroen, down 16 percent, and Renault, down 14 percent.

Through April, German sales rose 7.9 percent to 869,765.

Germany’s VDA auto industry association raised its 2023 growth forecast to 4 percent from a previous prediction of 2 percent. The association said factory output is growing as chip shortages and other supply snags ease.

Car sales in Germany are now expected to rise to 2.8 million units in 2023 compared to a previously-predicted 2.7 million units, VDA said.

Reuters contributed to this report