Analysis The electric car market grows more slowly—Germany loses 3rd place

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In 2024, more electric cars were sold worldwide than ever before. However, growth has slowed—and Germany has lost its place among the top 3.

In the key electric car markets worldwide, more than ten million purely battery-powered vehicles were sold last year. In the 21 markets examined by consulting firm PwC, there were 10.4 million sales, according to an analysis available to the German Press Agency in advance. This is 14.3 percent more than a year ago.

Growth has likely slowed significantly. In 2023, PwC had calculated an increase of 28 percent. However, last year's figures have since been revised downward. The main reason is that PwC corrected its survey method for China to prevent exported vehicles from being counted twice. The difference goes into the hundreds of thousands.

Germany loses its podium position

China is the absolutely dominant market with almost two-thirds of the volume—specifically 6.7 million pure electric cars (BEVs). It also leads in growth with just over 20 percent, significantly above the average – based on the revised figures from the previous year. Following this are the USA with 1.2 million and an increase of 7.4 percent.

Third place does not go to Germany, as in the past, but rather to the United Kingdom (UK) with 382,000 BEVs. This was a good 21 percent more than the previous year. Germany, on the other hand, slips narrowly to fourth place, as the local electric car market collapsed by around 27 percent to 381,000 vehicles last year following the discontinuation of purchase incentives.

In other European markets such as France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, or Sweden, electric car sales also declined, but the decreases were milder than in Germany, based on a lower starting point.

"Currently, it is evident that the global electric car market continues to be heavily dependent on external factors," says Jörn Neuhausen from the PwC-owned consultancy Strategy &. The strong sales in China towards the end of the year can also be explained by "a kind of scrappage bonus for purchasing electric cars."

Held back new registrations

Overall, Germany is "slowing down the dynamics of the entire EU market," according to PwC. However, there is a special effect that at least partially explains the current predicament: Because manufacturers have to sell significantly more BEVs in 2025 to meet the stricter CO2 regulations, they have shifted BEV sales from the previous year to the current year. As a result, PwC expects a surge in electric registrations at the beginning of the new year.

Thomas Peckruhn, Vice President of the German Motor Vehicle Trade Association (ZDK), has also observed the shift in registrations. "We will see significantly increased new registration numbers for electric cars and plug-in hybrids in January," he says about the German market. "But this is not a turning point, just a flash in the pan."

In 2024, the growth in plug-in hybrids was significantly stronger than in pure electric cars. In the examined markets, it rose by 56 percent to 6.2 million. For hybrids without plugs, growth was at 18 percent, reaching 8.9 million.