Tesla posts big sales rise as German market plunges 32%

FRANKFURT -- Tesla was the biggest winner in Germany last month as electric cars continued to gain market share in Europe's largest vehicle market.

Tesla's new-car sales grew 234 percent as the wider German market plunged 32 percent to 198,258 registrations, according to data from the KBA motor authority.

Production bottlenecks caused by the global shortage of microchips continues to hit supply to dealerships.

"We have never experienced a situation like this before. Customers want to buy cars, but some of the manufacturers can't deliver," said Reinhard Zirpel, president of the VDIK importers association in a statement.

Tesla's market share in November at 2.8 percent was higher than Toyota's 2.6 percent share. Tesla's new-car sales of 5,633 outpaced Porsche's new-car sales, which fell 11 percent to 2,460.

Tesla's new factory near Berlin to scheduled to start production in December, reducing the automaker's reliance on imports from its U.S. and China plants.

The new Volvo-affiliated brand Polestar also benefitted from Germany's boom in full-electric vehicles as its registrations rose 105 percent to 234 cars.

Overall sales of full-electric cars rose 39 percent to 40,270 units, giving battery-powered cars a 20.3 percent market share. Plug-in-hybrid registrations fell 8.9 percent, resulting in a 14.1 percent share.

Diesel sales declined 56 percent for a 15.8 percent share, while gasoline vehicles fell 44 percent to give the drivetrain a 33.3 percent share.

Sales to business customers dropped by 31 percent, while private demand fell 33 percent.

Among brands with the biggest drop in sales were Mazda, down 59 percent; Ford, down 55 percent; Nissan, down 49 percent; Citroen, down 47 percent; and Jaguar, down 46 percent.

Audi's registrations fell 45 percent, while VW brand's volume dropped 42 percent and Toyota sales declined by 40 percent.

Mercedes-Benz fell 37 percent, BMW sales were down 32 percent, Peugeot sales dropped 31 percent and Opel's volume was down by 29 percent.

• Click here for German sales in November

Korean brands Hyundai and Kia continued to weather the chips crisis better than most competitors. Kia's sales were flat while Hyundai's registrations dropped by just 1.1 percent

Among brands that posted positive results were Mitsubishi, whose registrations rose 18 percent and Mini, which rose 9 percent.

Through November, overall registrations in Germany were down 8.1 percent to 2.39 million.

The VDIK expects full-year sales of passenger cars to be 2.6 million, 300,000 fewer than in 2020, with demand recovering in 2021 for an increase of 15 percent to about 3 million registrations.