Fewer new registrations and higher CO2 emissions

In March, new car registrations in Germany fell by 6.2 percent compared to the same month last year. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, 68.1 percent of the 263,844 new car registrations were attributable to commercial owners (down 4.7 percent), while private new registrations fell by 9.4 percent. The average CO2 emissions of all new cars registered last month rose by 3.1% compared to March 2023 and amounted to 124.4 grams per kilometer. Demand for electric cars fell noticeably compared to the same month last year.

Among the German brands, only Porsche saw an increase of 14.8%. BMW stagnated (+0.6%) and all other manufacturers fell short of the previous year's figure, with Opel recording the smallest decline at 2.7%. VW (-3.4%) remained the market leader with a share of 18.3%. The majority of import brands recorded significant growth, with Mitsubishi achieving the strongest increase in registrations at 225.4% and increasing its market share to 2%. Skoda was once again the strongest importer with a 6.2% share of new registrations.

Electric cars recorded a 28.9 percent drop in registrations and a share of 11.9 percent. Plug-in hybrids (-4.5%) accounted for 6.1% of all new registrations last month. New petrol cars were registered most frequently (37.8%; -3.4%), while diesel (-0.5%) accounted for 18.3% of registrations. The number of LPG vehicles increased slightly (+5.9%), while natural gas sank further into insignificance as a drive alternative (-79.7%). Gas-powered cars together achieved a market share of 0.5% of new registrations. (aum)