Sharp increase in electric cars worldwide in 2023

The number of electric cars worldwide increased by about half last year. According to the German research institute ZSW, there were around 42 million cars with an electric motor at the end of 2023. These are fully electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles with a range extender.

More than half of the global total, 23.4 million cars, are used on the road in China. The United States is in second place, with 4.8 million vehicles. Germany is in third place with 2.3 million, followed by France and the United Kingdom with 1.6 and 1.5 million respectively.

In recent months, however, many car manufacturers have noticed a decline in demand for fully electric vehicles. As a result, German Mercedes announced last week that it has scaled back its electrification plans to invest more in vehicles with combustion engines. A German study also recently revealed that many car dealers in Germany are hesitant to trade in electrically powered cars because they are difficult to get rid of.