Since government subsidies for e-cars and plug-in hybrids were cut, the number of new registrations has been falling. Consumers are increasingly turning to combustion engines again – and CO2 emissions are increasing.
The cars newly registered in the current year so far emit significantly more CO2 than in 2022. The Federal Motor Transport Authority gives the average car value for January to April as 123.2 grams per kilometer. In contrast, the annual average for 2022 was only 109.6 grams.
The main reason for this can also be found in the KBA statistics: the proportion of purely electric cars and plug-in hybrids has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year. While they accounted for around 30 percent of new registrations in 2022, from January to April it was only around 20 percent. “Here it’s taking revenge that the funding has been cut,” says industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. “This has taken the breath away from the plug-in hybrid in particular, and it has collapsed compared to the very strong previous year.”
Limited budget for promotion
Last year, the federal government agreed on new rules for subsidizing electric cars. Accordingly, cars with electric drives will continue to be subsidized by the state. However, subsidization is to be reduced and limited to a specific total budget.
Because pure electric cars but no CO2 at all and plug-in hybrids emit much less CO2 than pure combustion engines, at least according to the official figures, they depress the overall average. In 2022, the values for pure combustion engines were 150.5 grams per kilometer for petrol engines and even 168 grams for diesels.
Highest emissions: Lamborghini and Rolls Royce
The KBA statistics now also show which brands have the highest average CO2 emissions per kilometer for new registrations from January to April. Lamborghini and Rolls Royce are at the forefront of passenger cars with well over 300 grams – albeit with very low numbers of new registrations. Among the larger brands with at least 10,000 newly registered cars since the beginning of the year, Porsche has the highest value at 208.2 grams.
The three major German premium brands are close together, but also above average: According to the KBA, Mercedes has an average value of 136.4 grams, Audi 135.5 and BMW 133.7 grams. VW comes in at 129.8 grams, Opel at 114, 5.