Gary Zhou 
Tesla sales in Germany during January increased by over 900 percent compared to January 2022.
Tesla has consistently seen sales grow in Germany since it arrived in the market, and certainly at a respectable pace, but the first month of this year has proved the brand still has a lot of growing room. Compared to January 2022, Tesla sales exploded by 912.2 percent, which is only the beginning of the good news.
In January last year, Tesla had no operational vehicle production facility in Germany as Gigafactory Berlin awaited approval to begin manufacturing from the government. Vehicles were shipped from Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai, which was considered the company’s “export hub” for the European market, as Giga Berlin wouldn’t be approved until March.
Ironically, compared to previous months, sales were fairly typical, showing just how far Tesla has come in 1 year. According to the KBA, the German ministry tasked with tracking registered vehicles, Tesla sold 4,241 vehicles in the first month of the year, a growth of over 900 percent compared to January 2022. The KBA notes that in January, Tesla represented 2.4 percent of the overall vehicle market.
With Giga Berlin reaching 3,000 units per week of Model Y production, Tesla is keeping up with demand for its vehicles. As the automaker now qualifies for the full incentive program in Germany, sales should continue to increase throughout the rest of the year.
Other brands that saw dramatic increases in sales volume include Maserati, MG, and Suzuki. However, the only mass-market player that neared Tesla’s growth was Nissan, which sold 1,998 units, growing by 49 percent compared to last year. Most other brands that saw sales growth during the month were luxury brands like Mercedes, Ferrari, Jaguar, and Land Rover.
Sadly, another substantial drop was seen in electric vehicle sales. While representing a still respectable 10.1 percent of the market, EV sales were still down by just over 13 percent compared to the previous month. In turn, gas vehicles had a rare uptick in consumer sales, growing by 3.5 percent compared to December 2022.
As Tesla continues to grow its production capacity in Germany and hopefully, in turn, continues to reduce prices, there is no doubt that its sales volume will continue to grow in the coming months and years. While perhaps not reflective of the EV market overall during the month, at the very least, Tesla shows that the interest in these vehicles is still very much alive and well, even if disturbed by current economic conditions.
