ZSW: 42 million electric cars on the road worldwide
The ZSW estimates that there will be 41,993,140 electric cars on the road by the end of 2023. By comparison, there were only 7.8 million BEVs and PHEVs in 2019, while the statistics indicate a stock of 27.85 million vehicles at the end of 2022. Of the almost 42 million electric cars on the road, the majority are in China (23.4 million vehicles), ahead of the US (4.84 million vehicles) and Germany (2.33 million electric cars). They are followed by France (1.59 million vehicles) and the United Kingdom (1.54 million vehicles). All other countries have a maximum six-digit electric car population.
China is also well ahead in terms of new registrations of electric cars worldwide (14.8 million vehicles in 2023, according to ZSW statistics). According to the ZSW, the country accounted for just over nine million new registrations last year – or almost 61 per cent of all new electric vehicle registrations. In 2021, Germany was still in second place ahead of the US. In 2022, the United States overtook Germany despite growth in Germany. And while new EV registrations in Germany fell from just under 833,000 to 699,940 units in 2023, the US continued to grow in the previous year – to 1.45 million vehicles. That makes the US – albeit by a wide margin – the only country in the world apart from China with seven-digit new registrations of BEVs and PHEVs in 2023. However, if you add up the new registrations in the EU, Europe had 2.5 million new registrations of electric cars.
Number of electric cars worldwide
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 60,690 | 102,900 | 173,200 | 269,600 | 462,000 |
| China | 3,810,000 | 5,008,500 | 8,253,500 | 14,638,700 | 23,401,400 |
| Denmark | 25,350 | 61,580 | 144,500 | 217,600 | 323,100 |
| Germany | 238,660 | 588,730 | 1,184,200 | 1,877,550 | 2,330,440 |
| Finland | 29,720 | 55,870 | 100,900 | 150,700 | 222,300 |
| France | 275,600 | 470,300 | 756,400 | 1,103,000 | 1,594,800 |
| Italy | 39,540 | 99,260 | 235,700 | 332,100 | 461,500 |
| Japan | 263,800 | 293,100 | 336,200 | 431,700 | 569,600 |
| Canada | 148,000 | 200,000 | 282,100 | 399,200 | 573,500 |
| Netherlands | 200.,600 | 275,600 | 388,600 | 524,600 | 721,700 |
| Norway | 376,700 | 480,000 | 631,600 | 791,200 | 891,800 |
| Austria | 37,390 | 59,050 | 105,700 | 152,700 | 214,900 |
| Portugal | 36,400 | 56,260 | 85,000 | 119,400 | 184,400 |
| Sweden | 100,900 | 184,000 | 308,100 | 450,500 | 584,900 |
| Schwitzerland | 52,690 | 86,470 | 140,300 | 174,800 | 237,100 |
| Spain | 55,810 | 88,540 | 153,900 | 233,900 | 353,000 |
| South Korea | 96,710 | 136,600 | 252,900 | 360,000 | 519,000 |
| UK | 223,800 | 370,800 | 636,400 | 1,089,200 | 1,536,900 |
| USA | 1,450,000 | 1,773,200 | 2,429,100 | 3,417,500 | 4,837,600 |
| Rest of the World | 310,600 | 452,000 | 757,200 | 1,113,200 | 1,973,200 |
| Total | 7,832,960 | 10,842,760 | 17,355,500 | 27,847,150 | 41,993,140 |
However, growth is clearly losing momentum in Germany, as the ZSW summarises. After an increase of 22 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021, new registrations actually fell by 16 per cent last year. This development was “influenced by several factors.” On the one hand, sales figures for plug-in hybrids fell considerably due to the expiry of state subsidies on 31 December 2022. However, the 11 per cent growth for purely battery-electric cars could only partially make up for the decline. “The higher purchase costs for electric vehicles remain a frequently cited criticism. The relatively weak overall economic development in Germany has probably also dampened the development of electric mobility, as have falling fossil fuel prices after the high-price phase in 2022,” says the ZSW.
“To achieve the German electric mobility targets – 15 million electric vehicles in the fleet by 2030 – and to develop a new dynamic in climate protection in the transport sector, the market needs new impulses. The German government’s growth initiative to increase the promotion of electric company cars can only be a first step,” says Andreas Püttner from ZSW. “Given strict savings targets for public budgets, the boost can come in particular from the abolition of privileges for conventional vehicles – also known as climate-damaging subsidies.
For example, the discontinuation of tax concessions for fossil diesel fuels, the so-called diesel privilege, and the end of the so-called company car privilege for vehicles with conventional drive systems or the exclusive promotion of electrically powered company cars could bring us much closer to a ‘level playing field’ with equal conditions for combustion engines and electric cars.”
Even if the German market does not develop as hoped, German manufacturers are at the forefront globally – even if they may not be as far ahead as hoped. VW, BMW and Mercedes are all among the top 10 manufacturers, with VW even moving up to third place in terms of new registrations with just over 1 million cars sold. However, compared to the industry leaders BYD (China) and Tesla (USA), there is still a significant gap in numbers. With over 3 million electric cars sold, the Chinese company BYD was once again able to significantly increase the number of new registrations by 68 per cent compared to last year and thus confidently leads the manufacturers’ rankings. At the same time, Tesla continues to maintain second place with 1.8 million sales. BYD (6.33 million vehicles) is also ahead of Tesla (5.44 million EVs) and VW (3.31 million vehicles) in terms of cumulative new registrations. However, only Tesla’s statistics include purely electric cars. Both BYD and VW are electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
This can also be seen when looking at the models: with 1,211,600 million units, the Tesla Model Y was by far the best-selling electric car worldwide according to the ZSW statistics. The BYD Song plug-in hybrid followed in second place with 536,700 units, just ahead of the Tesla Model 3 with 528,100 units. That also means that the Model Y has overtaken the Model 3 (2.334 million) as the best-selling electric car in the world in terms of cumulative new registrations, with 2.456 million vehicles. But BYD is not only scoring points with plug-in hybrids. The Atto 3 came in 4th place with 422,600 units sold (after only 1,900 units in 2022), the Dolphin came in 5th place with 368,100 units, and the Seagull small car already reached 280,200 units in its first year.
Cumulative new registrations of electric cars by manufacturer
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYD | 736,700 | 916,500 | 1,510,200 | 3,308,600 | 6,333,000 |
| Tesla | 885,000 | 1,384,600 | 2,320,800 | 3,634,700 | 5,443,300 |
| VW | 358,000 | 779,600 | 1,458,800 | 2,290,600 | 3,314,800 |
| SAIC | 315,300 | 584,100 | 1,201,800 | 2,388,500 | 3,168,700 |
| Geely | 230,100 | 373,200 | 585,200 | 1,191,300 | 2,015,900 |
| BMW | 414,500 | 607,100 | 851,700 | 1,285,500 | 1,852,000 |
| Hyundai | 230,100 | 395,800 | 692,100 | 1,078,200 | 1,578,000 |
| Stellantis | 81,800 | 201,300 | 481,500 | 889,100 | 1,347,500 |
| Mercedes | 142,140 | 305,140 | 525,240 | 858,740 | 1,260,640 |
| GAC Group | 45,500 | 107,600 | 230,400 | 519,400 | 1,013,500 |
Cumulative new registrations of electric cars by model
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 0 | 79,700 | 490,200 | 1,244,700 | 2,456,400 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 450,100 | 812,900 | 1,313,600 | 1,806,200 | 2,334,300 |
| Hongguang Mini EV | 0 | 119,300 | 545,800 | 1,099,900 | 1,311,700 |
| BYD Song PHEV | 88,500 | 109,700 | 218,500 | 629,500 | 1,166,400 |
| BYD Qin PHEV | 153,900 | 158,600 | 272,300 | 467,600 | 795,100 |
| Nissan Leaf | 439,100 | 490,000 | 554,200 | 607,200 | 629,900 |
| BYD Dolphin | 0 | 0 | 29,600 | 235,000 | 603,100 |
| VW ID.4 | 0 | 4,800 | 124,500 | 298,500 | 510,700 |
| Aion S | 32,500 | 78,100 | 147,300 | 263,000 | 485,200 |
| BYD Qin EV300 | 49,700 | 98,600 | 174,200 | 327,900 | 482,000 |
Source: Information by e-mail (Press release), zsw-bw.de (Daten)
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