Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are now driving the new-vehicle marketplace. In five short years, new BEV launches have risen from 6% in 2018 to 70% in 2023, according to recent analysis from German-based market research firm Dataforce.

With 85 new BEV models in 2023, manufacturers for the first time are releasing more BEVs than all other fuel types combined. BEVs have become an “indispensable part of the road scene,” Dataforce analysts note.

To examine the electric vehicle marketplace presence, Dataforce compared the historical data of internal combustion engines (ICEs) as an established basis with the electric alternatives BEVs (pure electric vehicles) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) to provide a forecast for the future.

In 2018, nearly 75% of new launches were classic ICEs, with the remaining new models spread across PHEVs and full hybrids, according to Dataforce figures.

By 2020, many manufacturers focused heavily on PHEVs in their new launches when PHEVs accounted for just over half of the new releases (53%). The share of BEVs had also risen sharply by 2020 to 31%.

Dataforce figures indicate 2020 was the first time more new BEVs than ICE models in the market. Since then, the BEV market share has risen at the expense of PHEVs, which fell to 35% in 2021 and only 17% of new launches in 2022.

59 New BEV Models by 2025

Based on manufacturers' announcements, Dataforce has identified 59 new BEV launches by 2025, corresponding to 92% of all new models. In contrast, only one ICE model —the Dacia Bigster — has been announced.

Dataforce calls the development of BEVs “astonishingly dynamic” with few able to predict the rapid decline in new ICE numbers. “The question of whether PHEVs will be the better electric alternative in the future has probably become superfluous, as the figures clearly speak in favor of BEVs,” the analysis concludes.

As BEV New Models Rise, ICE Still Dominates the Road

The Dataforce report cautions that new vehicle releases should not be taken as the sole basis for the enforcement of BEVs. ICEs still outnumber other models on the market and dominate on the road network.

“To what extent the many new BEVs will also be accepted by the market remains to be seen,” continued the Dataforce forecast. “Certainly not every new model will be a success. Nevertheless, 471,464 BEVs were newly registered in Germany in 2022, which corresponds to a share of almost 18%. By 2025, Dataforce predicts that the BEV share will rise to 29%.”

More information on the Dataforce forecast, is available on the firm’s website.