Data from the German auto association VDA reveals that German car sales are struggling to keep pace with the global recovery in the passenger car market. Predictions for 2024 indicate that German car sales are expected to be 25% below pre-pandemic levels. The VDA anticipates a 2% growth in the global passenger car market this year, reaching 77.4 million cars, close to the pre-pandemic level of 78.8 million.
However, the German passenger car market is projected to contract by 1%, with sales expected to reach 2.82 million—still a quarter smaller than pre-pandemic levels. While supply chain issues have mostly been resolved, the business environment for German carmakers remains challenging, according to VDA chief economist Manuel Kallweit.
The data from VDA also indicates a decline in German electric car sales, falling by 16% in 2023, and a further 9% drop forecasted for 2024. Although plug-in hybrid sales are expected to grow from 176,000 to 185,000, battery-electric vehicle sales are predicted to decrease from 524,000 to 451,000.
Despite the challenges in domestic sales, the forecast suggests a 19% increase in the production of electric cars in Germany, reaching 1.45 million in 2024, with a significant portion of this output intended for export. Germany holds the position of the world’s second-largest passenger electric vehicle producer, trailing behind China, which produced 6.6 million cars in 2023 compared to Germany’s 1.2 million. The United States closely follows Germany, having produced 1.1 million electric cars in the same period, according to VDA and S&P Global Mobility figures.
