Frankfurt. The passenger car market in Germany has developed well in 2016 with an estimated increase of 4.8 percent, which is significantly higher than expected. With 3.36 million newly registered vehicles, it has achieved the best result since 2009, the year with the environmental bonus. The VDIK assumes that the number of registration will remain stable at a comparable level in 2017.
VDIK member companies participate above average in the positive development, they increase their market share by about half a percentage point to a solid 36 percent. This is the best result the international manufacturers have achieved in Germany so far, disregarding the year of the environmental bonus. In total, the VDIK members sold a solid 1.2 million passenger cars in Germany in 2016.
The positive market development is solidly grounded with significant growth in both the private and the fleet market. The private market has grown by nearly 7 percent to 1.17 million and is thus back on a positive trend for the first time in years. The fleet market has reached a new record level with around 830,000 registrations and has grown by 5.5 percent. The registrations for the motor vehicle industry itself and the car rental companies were below the growth of the overall market with an increase of 3 percent. Their market share is thus declining.
VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel: "The record market share of the VDIK member companies is based in particular on their strength in the private market. The international manufacturers were able to raise their share in this market to 44 percent with an increase of 11 percent. "
Concerning the type of drive, the sale of passenger cars with internal combustion engines remains dominant. In 2016, more than 1.7 million petrol-powered vehicles were registered in Germany, with growth expected to be 8 percent and therefore higher than the increase in the overall market. The registrations of passenger cars with diesel engines reaches more than 1.5 million units and are up compared to the previous year, a plus of half a percent, their market share is declining. The current discussion about driving restrictions in cities and the blue sticker has contributed to this development.
The share of alternative drives in new registrations will be 2 percent in 2016. In Europe, the figure is 4 percent. This figure demonstrates the backlog in Germany. The alternative type of drive currently most sold in Germany is the hybrid without a plug-in. Of these vehicles, around 33,000 units were newly registered in 2016, an increase of almost 50 percent. These vehicles are provided almost exclusively by VDIK member companies. The registrations of cars with pure electric drive will conclude at about the level of the previous year. The market share of the VDIK members is here 43 percent. The plug-in hybrid vehicles will grow by 25 percent.
Looking at the segments, a different development is shown. The SUVs and off-road vehicles together recorded the greatest increase, with a plus of 19 percent. The popularity of these vehicles is also reflected in an above-average private market share of 43 percent. The segments of the compact and middle class remain roughly at the level of the previous year.
The private car market is of great importance for the good result of new registrations in 2016. The importance of private demand for the passenger car market as a whole becomes even more evident when vehicles that are sold in the first four months after the first registration by the car dealer or manufacturer are also considered. These are mainly demonstration cars and young rental cars, 90 percent of which are reregistered to private owners.
VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel: "The original private new registrations and the re-registrations of young used cars combined result in a private market share of 46 percent. This means, the private customer is reliable, he buys almost every second car in Germany. "
Although the figures provided by BAFA regarding requests for the environmental bonus show a slower development than expected, the relatively high proportion of applications from private customers demonstrates that the path taken to promote it is right. The VDIK assumes that around 9,000 applications for the environmental bonus will be submitted by the end of the year. The BAFA will publish information on the number of disbursements in the spring of 2017.
CO2 fleet emissions from VDIK member companies at 122 g/km CO2
The VDIK member companies have started early on to promote the reduction of CO2 emissions. From 1978 to October 2016, the VDIK member companies have reduced their average CO2 emissions by 118 g/km CO2, almost halving it, the current level being 122 g/km CO2.
The VDIK is clearly committed to the Paris Climate Agreement and will make every effort to make a significant contribution to emission-free mobility. In this context, we explicitly call for the protection of technological neutrality. In doing so, we are in complete agreement with the European Commission's strategy paper on low-emission mobility.
VDIK members have already been active in the field of electromobility since 2010. With currently 22 electric vehicle models in a total of 61 equipment variants, they support the Federal Government's package of measures to promote electromobility through a broad selection of products with a very wide range of applications. Over 45 percent of the current model range is provided by them.
The supply of electric vehicles will grow in the coming years. Together with the further expansion of the charging infrastructure in 2017, VDIK is forecasting a further significant increase in the number of registrations of electric vehicles. The association is expecting politics to create and develop regulations to simplify the payment process for charging electric vehicles significantly, so that roaming and ad-hoc charging without contractual obligations will be possible in the short term. In addition, the VDIK calls for politics to quickly create legal clarity for charging facilities in rented houses and residential properties.
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