In November, the largest European automobile market was in decline, KBA data revealed. 245,701 new passenger cars were registered in Germany, down 5.7% from last year. Among them, 44,942 were all-electric (BEV), down 22.5% annually. Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) registered 18,124 units, down 59.3% from the same month last year.

MG Roewe got the first spot among China-made brands, registering 1,673 vehicles, down 20.82% from October and basically flat from last year. MG delivered 18,655 cars in Germany in 2023 so far.

It was followed by Geely’s Smart, which registered 1,339 EVs, up 50.96% from October and down 7% from last year. In 2023, Smart delivered 15,655 EVs in Germany.

Smart sells only two vehicles in Germany: compact SUVs Smart #1 and Smart #3. Both cars are all-electric, and the #1 is made in Geely’s plant in Xi’an, while the #3 is assembled in Changxing. Smart is a joint venture between Geely and Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes itself is 20% China-owned as about 10% stake owns Geely Group and another 10% state-owned BAIC, who is MB’s biggest shareholder.

Third place goes to Great Wall Motor (GWM), which registered 426 EVs, down 2.29% from last month. GWM expanded to Germany mainly with their ORA brand, which sells their ORA Funky Cat hatchback.

BYD sold 350 EVs, up 54.87% in November in Germany, and their cumulative deliveries in 2023 (January – November) are 3,438 vehicles. Geely’s owned Polestar registered 281 EVs, up 3.31% from last month and 83.2% down from last year. Polestar delivered 6,023 EVs this year so far. Polestar vehicles are produced in Geely’s plant in Hangzhou Bay.

It was followed by Nio, which registered 50 cars, down 82.70% from 289 in October and down 47.4% from last year. Nio’s cumulative deliveries from January to November are 1,224 vehicles.

In Germany, Nio offers two options – standard car buyout or subscription. The KBAs track new car plate registrations, so they include both of those options. Companies often favor the subscription as a leasing alternative. 

Nio officially started deliveries in Germany a year ago, in October 2022.

Xpeng hasn’t entered Germany yet and plans to do so in 2024; Aiways registered 0 vehicles, down from 2 in October.

For comparisons, Tesla sold 4,923 vehicles in November in Germany, down 54.5% from the previous year. Part of the deliveries were locally made in Giga Berlin, and part was imported from Giga Shanghai.