The number of electric cars continues to increase rapidly worldwide, with the figure jumping by half in 2023 compared to a year earlier, the latest research from Germany found.

The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) reported on Sunday that there were around 42 million cars with electric motors at the end of 2023 – some 50% more than a year earlier.

This figure includes purely electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles with a range extender.

According to the ZSW, 23.4 million of these cars were in China, more than half of the global stock.

No. 2 is the United States, although it was far behind with 4.8 million vehicles.

Germany is in third place with 2.3 million, ahead of France and the United Kingdom with 1.6 and 1.5 million respectively.

China's dominance is unlikely to change much in the short term, with growth there at 60% compared to last year – significantly stronger than in other major markets.

In order to achieve the German targets for electromobility, the market needs a new impetus, said Andreas Puttner from ZSW. "The German government's growth initiative to increase the promotion of electric company cars can only be a first step."

He suggested abolishing subsidies for conventional vehicles – such as the tax advantage for diesel or the company car privilege for combustion engines.

In 2023, the largest manufacturer of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids was the Chinese brand BYD, with just over 3 million new registrations; Tesla, with 1.8 million and VW, with 1 million.

BMW was in sixth place with just under 570,000 vehicles and Mercedes in 10th place with just over 400,000.

According to cumulative new registration figures, the two most common cars with an electric drive both come from electric car pioneer Tesla: the Model Y with almost 2.5 million vehicles and the Model 3 with a good 2.3 million vehicles.

However, the manufacturer also benefits from the fact that purchases are concentrated on just a few models.