Electric Car Boom Hits 1.2 Million in Germany: Challenges Ahead Amid Climate Concerns 🚗💥
Over a million electric cars are now zipping around German streets, hitting a whopping 1.2 million mark thanks to a surge in new registrations by the end of 2022. Despite worries that the environmental bonus reduction might slow things down in the first half of this year, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) reports the numbers kept climbing to almost 1.2 million units. However, there’s a bit of a speed bump on the road to the government’s dream of having 15 million electric cars by 2030. And in a not-so-great twist, experts from the government have raised their eyebrows at how things are impacting the climate.
Renault Zoe Takes the Lead Over Tesla Model 3
When we peek at the numbers, it turns out that by the close of June, Germany had around 1,179,632 electric cars scooting around. The most common sight was the trusty Renault Zoe, with a whopping 84,227 of them registered in Germany. Following it closely is the cool Tesla Model 3 (check it out in the picture above) with 75,673 units. The newer Model Y might be grabbing attention lately, but since it arrived on the European scene a bit later, it’s got a smaller count, with 57,726 of these Teslas on German roads. The VW ID.3 also makes a solid appearance with 69,079 units.
But here’s a twist: It looks like quite a few electric cars are waving goodbye to Germany. At the end of 2022, there were about 1.04 million of them, and then in the next six months, over 220,000 shiny new units got added to the mix. Ideally, by the end of June, we should have been looking at around 1.26 million, instead of just under 1.2 million. About 80,000 electric cars ended up being either scrapped or shipped abroad this year. It seems that many Tesla owners, especially, found a hot market for their gently used cars in other countries as soon as the six-month waiting period for the German environmental bonus ran its course.
But wait, things have changed now. The environmental bonus dropped this year, and you also need to hold onto your electric car for a year before you can let it go. An advisor named Stefan Bratzel from the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) thinks these changes aren’t quite enough to hit the big 15 million electric car target by 2030. Bratzel predicts only 450,000 new electric cars will be registered this year, and the number will go up to 650,000 the year after. If everything stays the way it is, it could mean only 7 to 8 million electric cars by 2030.
Let’s Talk Real Talk About Electric Cars
Bratzel is saying we need a “reality check” to match our electric car dreams with the funding needed. It’s a bit like a mirror being held up, and it’s not just him saying it. The “traffic light” government got a big wake-up call on Tuesday from their climate experts. They’re the ones who look at what the government is doing for the climate and how it’s working out. According to their latest report card, the experts see the biggest problem in transportation. They’re saying we could have 117 to 191 million tonnes more CO2 by 2030 from cars than what’s allowed. They also think the plan might be a bit too “optimistic.”
So, there you have it—electric cars are racing ahead, but there’s a lot to think about and plenty of bumps on the road.