According to Statista, between January and May 2024, 140,700 electric cars were registered in Germany. This is almost 16 percent less than the same period last year. In 2023, around 167,300 electric cars will be registered.
“The collision point is easy to determine”
For Thomas Elitzsch, director of ten car dealerships in Saxony, the reason is clear. According to him, he told the newspaper “Bild”: “The collision point is easy to determine. Shortly before Christmas last year, Mr. Habeck canceled the financing for electric cars that had been in force until then in Berlin overnight.
Since then, Elitzsch reports, electric cars “can only be disposed of through generous discount campaigns.” He also says what he believes the electric car market is missing: “An affordable entry-level model.”
“That puts off many customers.”
The cheapest electric car for him is currently the VW ID.3 for just under 37,000 euros. “To put it bluntly, right now I can only get rid of something like this if I put a wad of cash in the glove compartment.”
In his opinion, electric cars also have fundamental problems: “The beginning and end of everything is the lack of autonomy, poor charging infrastructure and exorbitant prices for electricity at public charging stations. “This scares many customers,” Elitzsch told Bild newspaper.