German media: The private electric vehicle market in Germany is recovering

After a long period of market stagnation, the private electric vehicle market in Germany is showing signs of recovery. According to the "Electric Vehicle Barometer" (E-Barometer) by insurance company HUK Coburg, the number of private car owners choosing pure electric vehicles in the second quarter of this year exceeded any time since the government's purchase subsidy for electric vehicles was abolished at the end of 2023. According to the survey, from early April to the end of June, an average of 5.5% of private car owners chose electric vehicles when buying a new car. This figure is one-third higher than the previous three months (4.1%). Hybrid vehicles were not included in the survey.

The German government abolished the electric vehicle subsidy in December 2023, after which the rate of replacement with electric vehicles dropped from 6.2% to less than 4%. The analysis is based on the company's own data. HUK is the leader in the German automobile insurance market, covering insurance for over 14 million vehicles, surpassing Allianz Insurance.

Differing from the registration statistics of the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), HUK only evaluates the registration of private car owners, including both used and new vehicles, for its "Electric Vehicle Barometer". Vehicles belonging to companies, enterprises, and car rental companies are not included.

Jorin Land, a member of the board of HUK Insurance, said: "The success of Germany's transition to electric vehicles will depend on the private car market, as it accounts for 90% of the entire market."

Reservations about electric vehicles are decreasing

In addition, the general skepticism of the German public towards electric vehicles is weakening. In the current survey, for the first time, 48% of respondents rated electric vehicles as "very good" or "good", while 45% still considered electric vehicles not very good or not good at all. At the beginning of 2024, those who supported electric vehicles were still a minority, at just 37%.

The survey also showed significant differences in preferences among people of different ages, genders, and federal states: among people over 40 years old, only an average of 39% supported electric vehicles, while the proportion of support among people aged 16 to 39 was slightly below two-thirds (65%).

Women are more likely to be skeptical about electric vehicles than men. 55% of men considered electric vehicles a good option, while only 41% of women did. The highest proportion of electric vehicle owners was in Bavaria (3.7%) and Lower Saxony (3.6%), while the lowest was in Saxony (1.7%).

Source: DW

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839528214430729/

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