Germany sold close to 14,666 electrified vehicles in March, German automotive watchdog Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) announced in a press release on 4 April. Sales of pure electric vehicle grew 73.1% year-on-year (y/y) to 3,792 units for the month, whereas hybrid vehicles sales grew 45.4% y/y to 10,874 units, including 3,018 units of plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Significance: The healthy growth in EV sales can be partly attributed to the strong government policies favoring the adoption of electric vehicles (EV). The government has also been working towards building up infrastructure and a supportive ecosystem for EVs. For example, over the last year the country has seen quite a few projects aimed at developing EV batteries. In 2017, a TerraE-led consortium announced that it was looking to build a 34 GWh lithium-ion battery cell capacity in Germany. The consortium plans to set up large-scale series production of batteries at two German locations. Battery maker Akasol also opened a new 600 MWh battery manufacturing plant in Langen, Germany, where it has invested EUR10 million. In December, RWTH Aachen University announced that Germany is planning to invest EUR12.1 million (USD14.2 million) in research project Fab4Lib, which will start researching and developing processes for large-scale production of lithium-ion battery cells.
The country also started building its first e-highway for electric trucks on the A5 federal autobahn stretch between Langen / Mörfelden and Weiterstadt junctions, and is building two more test tracks in Schleswig-Holstein and Baden-Württemberg.
The German Federal Administrative Court too played its part by passing a ruling that allows cities to ban diesel cars in certain parts of the city. The share of diesel vehicle in new vehicle sales in March dropped to just 31.4 percent.
