FRANKFURT, Aug. 6 -- Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Germany slumped in July, due to weak demand exacerbated by the premature withdrawal of incentive policies at the end of last year.

New registrations of BEVs in Germany in July plunged sharply by 36.8 percent compared to the same period last year, to 30,762 units, figures released by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) on Monday have shown. Meanwhile, new registrations of passenger cars overall fell by 2.1 percent in July year-on-year.

BEVs accounted for 12.9 percent of the total in July, well below the market share of 18.4 percent that was registered in 2023.

The slump of BEV sales in July is a continuation of the faltering EV market in the first half of this year, when car sales in Germany plummeted by 16.4 percent.

By contrast, EV sales in the EU as a whole have maintained strong momentum in the first six months of 2024. The other 26 European countries posted a robust growth of 9.4 percent in BEV sales in the first half of this year, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) and an analysis by the Transport & Environment (T&E).

While countries such as France, Italy and Belgium have put incentives in place to encourage the sales of EVs, Germany put an end to its subsidy scheme for EVs at the end of 2023.

In December 2023, the German federal government, in an effort to fill the budget gap for 2024, announced that the subsidy for EVs, which was originally scheduled to last till the end of 2024, would be withdrawn with immediate effect.

  - Xinhua