Germany's struggle with growing electric car market: battery fears and high prices deter buyers

Based on the data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, there were 97 thousand used electric cars sold in Germany in 2023. This accounts for only 1.6 percent of the entire used car market. One significant reason is the high pricing: the average cost runs around 38 thousand euros, which is almost 10 thousand euros more than the average cost of gasoline or diesel cars. According to an analysis conducted on the mobile.de advertisement service, customers are inclined to spend almost 14 thousand euros less.

Prices are shifting under these pressures. Tagesschau observes that three-year-old electric cars are being sold 4.3 percent cheaper compared to the start of the year. The price drops for other types of vehicles are considerably smaller: 0.5 percent for vehicles with gas engines and 2.7 percent for diesel engines.

As manufacturers continue to offer substantial discounts on new electric vehicles, the prices of used ones are expected to plummet sharply. This could foster hesitations among potential customers who are unable to anticipate their car's resale value in a few years.

A common concern for customers is the condition of the battery, given that there aren't any standard testing procedures for assessing battery health. Often, dealers can only scrutinize vehicles of their own brand. Industry federations aim to launch uniform testing systems by midyear. Without these implemented measures and the expansion of the charging network, the goal of achieving 15 million electric cars by 2030 seems impossible.