FRANKFURT -- German new-vehicle registrations rose 25 percent in June, helped by strong demand for electric cars and an easing of the order backlog caused by supply shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Registrations of new passenger cars were 280,139 last month, according to data from the KBA motor transport authority.
Sales of battery-electric cars jumped 64 percent to 52,988 for an 18.9 percent market share, boosted by a 117 percent rise in Tesla registrations
Gasoline cars are still the biggest sellers in Germany, with sales up 20 percent for a 35.6 percent market share. Diesel sales rose 10 percent for a 16.7 percent share.
Germany’s VDIK importers association said the sales increase was mainly driven by the wider availability of new cars after the easing of supply problems that have hampered production.
Smart was the biggest winner last month as sales rose 186 percent, followed by MG, which saw demand leap 184 percent. Volvo by 97 percent and Mazda by 90 percent.
Among premium German brands, Audi sales increased 43 percent, while Mercedes-Benz was up 30 percent. BMW was down 0.6 percent.
- Download PDF here for German sales by brand
Among other mass-market automakers, Dacia was up 45 percent; Kia, up 27 percent; Seat and Fiat, both up 24 percent and VW brand, up 22 percent. Skoda rose 20 percent.
Ford's volume increased 14 percent, while Opel rose 6.6 percent.
Mass-market brands whose sales fell in June included Mitsubishi, down 43 percent; Honda, down 37 percent and Citroen, which fell 7.9 percent.
In the first half of the year, German sales have risen 13 percent to 1.4 million.
