MUNICH: Some 51 percent of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) newly registered in Germany in the first two thirds of the year were sports utility vehicles (SUVs), German news agency dpa reported on Tuesday, quoting government figures.

If off-road vehicles are included, the figure is even higher, at just under 55 percent, according to the latest data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). By comparison, the category of small and compact cars only accounts for just under 26 percent of new EV registrations.

The dominance of SUVs and off-road vehicles is greater among pure electric vehicles than in the overall market. Taken together, they account for just under 41 percent of all new registrations. Industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer sees the fundamental popularity of the vehicle type as the main reason for the high figures in the BEV sector. Anyone launching a new model today would be well advised to offer it as an SUV, he said. In addition, the design is well suited to BEVs, as there is usually spac
e for the batteries under the higher floor, the expert added.

Source: Emirates News Agency