New car registrations in Germany fell by more than 60% in April. Only electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla was able to achieve sales growth.

According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), the number of new car registrations in Germany fell by 61.1% compared with the same month last year. This is the first time since the beginning of the 2000s that so few new cars were registered in a month.  

“In April, all the effects of the Corona crisis on the automotive market will be visible,” said Reinhard Zirpel, the President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. “We are facing an unprecedented market downturn.” The reason for this sharp decline is obvious: in most federal states, car dealerships reopened only on April 20. Corona pandemic also lowers consumer sentiment.

Double-digit losses are experienced by all automakers, but not Tesla. According to the KBA, all German brands showed a double-digit decline in April. They range from -39.2% for the BMW Mini subsidiary to -94.1% for the Mercedes Smart subsidiary.

As the only import brand, Tesla has increased the number of registrations by 10.4%. All other import brands had entry losses, from -20% for DS to -74.8% for Mazda.

According to the agency, in April only 120,840 cars were registered, most of which, namely 58%, were registered for companies, and a little less than 42% for private customers.

Given the unprecedented recession, the auto industry is demanding that the government provide incentives for new cars. The industry wants it to be available not only for electric vehicles and hybrids, but also for diesel and gasoline engine cars.

"The current discussion about a possible purchase bonus means that potential buyers prefer to wait and postpone the decision to buy - this is exactly what the industry is currently not in a position to do. It would be very helpful here to get clarity as quickly as possible "- requires Peter Fuß, partner at consulting firm EY.

German government refused to give incentives for diesel and gasoline engine cars for now. Automakers who have bet against sanitizing our planet, who have devoted themselves entirely to the production of polluting cars, who install software that gives false readings on their car’s emissions, are now asking for help to continue what they did.

Of course, in addition to this, jobs are at stake for those who work in the factories of car manufacturers, so the government needs to find the right balance in order to transfer the economy built on the production of gasoline cars to the economy built on the production of electric cars.

Big auto bet on gasoline for too long. German government refused to give incentives for gas-guzzlers for now.

Many demand a change in strategy: away from ICEs towards EVs!

I translated this interesting report of @tagesschau for everyone interested.@thirdrowtesla #tesla $TSLA pic.twitter.com/nSbE2xnkvw

— Electric Lessi (@ElectricLessi) May 5, 2020

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