Continuing trend towards e-mobility

As a result of production bottlenecks, global growth in the sale of all-electric vehicles is losing momentum in the short term. Nevertheless, their market share is increasing in Germany and other key markets.

The boom for vehicle manufacturers continues. According to the Mobility department at Ernest Young (EY), 16 of the world’s biggest car manufacturers increased their overall turnover in the second quarter although the number of cars actually sold was ten percent lower than in the same period the previous year. The reason: Semiconductors which are in short supply end up primarily in high-margin vehicles, and price discounts sometimes even make way for price increases. Premium cars sell at premium prices—and this includes e-cars.

However, EY believes that the days of dream margins could be coming to an end, as the supply of semiconductors is expected to improve in the coming months. At the same time, problems affecting demand are increasing: a global recession, the energy crisis in Europe and caution on the part of consumers and companies when it comes to investments.

A massive fall in sales has already occurred in the Chinese market, which is particularly important for German manufacturers. Here, sales fell by some 24 percent. In den USA, sales have fallen by 21 percent and in Western Europe by 17 percent.

Slight fall in sales of all-electric vehicles

Growth in global new registrations of all-electric vehicles (BEVs) also slowed in the second quarter of 2022 owing to supply chain issues and lockdowns in China. Nevertheless, the market share grew in many key markets.

This is shown by the results of the recent “Electric Vehicle Sales Review” from Strategy&, the strategy consultancy division of PwC. According to the review, 61.7 percent more BEVs were registered in the second quarter of 2022 than in the same period the previous year. In contrast, 108 percent more vehicles were registered in the first quarter of 2022.

When it comes to e-mobility, China remains the measure of all things, with around 2.9 million new electric cars registered between January and August 2022—around 170,000 units more than in the entire previous year. Overall, BEVs thus achieve a record share of just under 20 percent of new registrations. On top of this, there are some 800,000 plug-in hybrids. This is the conclusion of the Electromobility Report 2022 published by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM).

According to Strategy&, German vehicle manufacturers are still making up ground in China in spite of the limited production capacities and have increased their share of the BEV market from three percent in the first half of 2021 to four percent in the first half of 2022. However, the share of the world market held by German OEMs fell from 14 to 11 percent.

Germany focuses on e-mobility

In Germany, BEVs accounted for 13.5 percent of all new car registrations in the first half of 2022. In the same period the previous year, they accounted for just 10.7 percent.

Given the initial signs of easing supply bottlenecks, it is hoped that production capacity can be ramped up with a view to achieving stronger growth in the second half of the year. The analysts at PwC expect demand for electric cars in Germany to rise steadily in the medium and long term, and even cuts in government subsidies are unlikely to slow it down much.

The analysis firm Berylls paints a somewhat ambivalent picture in its E-Mobility Ranking. According to the ranking, Germany has not even made it into the top 10 with a BEV quota of just over one percent. Norway, the Netherlands and China are well ahead here. The good news, however, is that Germany is the “growth champion” among the leading industrial nations, with annual growth in the BEV fleet of 113 percent.