VW increased ID3 sales more than 300% in December, helping full-electric cars finish the month as the country's most popular powertrain.
Volkswagen, Tesla and Fiat gained from a big push by automakers and dealers in Germany to get full-electric cars registered ahead of a change in the incentives given to battery-driven models.
All three brands claimed places on the country's list of top 10-sellers (see chart below) in December, which was the final month for a 6,000-euro incentive given to full-electric car buyers. The perk was reduced to 4,500 euros on January 1.
Plug-in hybrids such as versions of the Ford Kuga with the powertrain also gained in December, which was the last month that incentives were given for models with the powertrain.
Another driving force behind the spike in sales was that many automakers push sales of electrified models in the final month of the year to avoid costly fine from the European Union for missing their annual CO2 emissions targets.
In Germany, full-electric cars accounted for a market-leading 104,438 sales in December, beating out gasoline powered cars because of the 115 percent increase on the same month in 2021 (see chart below).
BMW was another brand driving the 113 percent increase in sales of plug-in hybrids in December.
The automaker increase sales 33 percent last month to 22,695, with plug-in hybrid variants of models such as the 3 Series family accounting for a large portion -- 40 percent -- of the brand's total growth last month.
BMW's plug-in hybrid sales surged last month in Germany because of strong demand for models such as 330e xDrive Touring (left).
The big gains for electrified models boosted the overall German market 38 percent in December, helping the country's full-year sales finish in positive territory, a rise of 1.1 percent, but that success will come at a price.
"This will mean significantly lower registrations in the first quarter of 2023 since the regular volume was brought forward," Dataforce Senior Automotive Analyst Benjamin Kibies said.
The market research estimates that the sales spike pulled forward 114,400 vehicle registrations, with private customer registrations accounting for 40,500 of that total.
Some of the brands that made big gains in Germany last year were; Tesla, which increased its market share more than a point to 2.6 percent; Cupra, which also rose more than a point to 2.3 percent; and MG, which grew to 0.6 percent from 0.1 percent.
