New record: electric cars account for over one third of new November registrations

A total of 198,300 new passenger cars were registered in Germany in November. Yet despite the keen demand, this was 32 percent down on the same month last year. In the first eleven months of 2021, 2.4 million cars were newly registered, equating to a year-to-date fall of 8 percent. The main reason for the weaker registration figures is the greatly reduced production volume at the manufacturers, as a result of the global shortage of semiconductors holding the German automotive industry back.

New registrations of electric passenger cars rose by 14 percent in November to 68,200 units. The proportion of e-cars among all new registrations was 34.4 percent, which was a long way above the previous month’s record. New registrations of battery-electric cars (BEVs) added 39 percent, while those of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) contracted by 9 percent. The accumulated total for 2021 now stands at 600,700 newly registered electric passenger cars (+92 percent).

New orders from Germany showed a year-on-year rise of 11 percent last month. The year-to-date total is 4 percent up on 2020. Foreign business clearly lost ground in November, with the German OEMs receiving 19 percent fewer orders from other countries. However, since January 4 percent more orders have arrived from abroad than during the same period in 2020.

Production at German vehicle plants fell once again in November. In all, 307,200 passenger cars were built (-32 percent). In the first eleven months, domestic production totaled just over 2.8 million passenger cars (-12 percent). Bottlenecks in the supply of semiconductors were again the main factor limiting production. Exports also declined in November, with 227,100 cars (-33 percent) sold to destinations abroad. This year so far, nearly 2.2 million passenger cars (-10 percent) have been delivered to customers around the world.