For the first time, a Tesla is Germany’s best-selling car
The rise of the Tesla models not only testifies to the unbroken global success of Elon Musk’s company
Source: Soeren Stache/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Symbolbild
With its Model Y, the electric car manufacturer Tesla led the rankings for new passenger car registrations for the first time in September. This testifies not only to the success of the car, but also to deep upheavals in the German automobile market. VW and Co. are under pressure.
Dhe US car manufacturer Tesla took first place among the best-selling cars in Germany for the first time in September with its SUV Model Y. This emerges from the current new registration statistics of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). According to the authority, 9,846 Model Ys were newly registered in September, followed by the VW Golf with 7095 new registrations.
Tesla’s Model 3 also ranked in the top 10 of the KBA statistics in September: with 3,878 newly registered cars, the model came in eighth place in the monthly evaluation, behind the Opel Corsa (4,139).
The rise of the Tesla models not only testifies to the uninterrupted global success of Elon Musk’s company, but also shows how rapidly the market is moving towards electromobility, including in Germany. In September, for example, 20 percent of all new passenger cars in the country were battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV).
If you include the plug-in hybrids (PHEV) – i.e. cars with a combustion engine and battery drive – then even every third new registration was a car with a power connection. The sales figures for these vehicles are now so high that individual models can make it into the ranking of the best-selling combustion engine cars – at least on a monthly basis.
Behind the number for September is a peculiarity in Tesla’s sales model: The company always tries to sell all of its inventory in the last month of the quarter. This relieves the balance sheet and increases profits.
Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 were among the top ten new registrations in Germany in September
Source: VCG via Getty Images
Since Tesla is now producing the Model Y in Grünheide near Berlin, it is to be expected that the “sales push” at the end of the quarter will be less violent in the future because the manufacturer can now consistently deliver the same high quantities.
Until now, the cars have arrived by ship from the factory in Shanghai in large consolidated shipments. According to Tesla, the plant in Brandenburg currently produces more than 2,000 vehicles per week and is expected to increase this output to 5,000 vehicles per week by the end of the year.
The best-selling e-cars of the year
The Tesla models will also dominate the segment of pure electric cars in the long term. In September, behind the Model Y and Model 3, the ID.4 and ID.5 will follow in third place Volkswagenfollowed by the electric Fiat 500. Even if you look at the figures since the beginning of the year, the Model Y is the best-selling electric car in Germany (22,555 since January).
They are followed by Fiat 500 (16,856) and Tesla Model 3 (15,901). Volkswagen models ranked fourth and sixth among electric models in the first nine months of the year. He is in fifth place Hyundai Kona (10,922). Overall, the VW brand is now just behind Tesla in terms of sales in this strategically important segment on its home market.
“It’s pretty disturbing that Elon Musk speaks for Russia”
“Elon Musk should do what he can – build cars and stay out of politics,” says Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. “I assume that not only the Twitter bubble, but also other people are seriously wondering whether you can still do business with a man like that.”
Source: WORLD / Lena Moselle
If you look at the overall sales figures since the beginning of the year, things are still fine for Volkswagen in Germany: Golf, T-Roc and Tiguan were the top-selling cars in the country in the first nine months of the year, followed by the Opel Corsa and Fiat 500 With a market share of 18.3 percent, the brand still dominates its home market, followed by Mercedes-Benz, bmw and Audi – each with between eight and nine percent market share.
Whether the German manufacturers can maintain this position depends above all on how quickly the transition to electromobility proceeds – and whether they can adapt their range quickly enough to the new structure of demand.
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