According to figures from the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) , worldwide growth in the number of electric cars on the road picked up steam last year. In China, the global leader, 1,256,000 newly registered vehicles practically doubled the number of e-cars in the country to 2.6 million. In the US (second place), 361,310 newly registered vehicles increased the number of e-cars on the road to a total of 1.1 million, while in Norway (third place), 86,340 newly registered vehicles brought the figure up to 298,210. 51% of new cars in the Scandinavian country are electric – the current world record.

In Germany, the number of electric cars rose by 67,504 newly registered vehicles (fourth place) to 141,690 (eighth place). Growth here is comparatively slow, with only approximately 13,000 more new cars registered in 2018 than in 2017; at less than 2%, Germany’s share in the total number of newly registered vehicles remains at a low level. According to the ZSW, Tesla accounts for the largest number of newly registered e-cars, followed by Chinese brands BYD and BAIC. The most successful German manufacturer was BMW, taking sixth place with close to 87,000 electric cars, followed by VW in ninth place.