Tesla has dominated the electric vehicle market in both North America and Europe this year, but in Germany, it is facing some stiff competition from Volkswagen and its new electric van, Electrek reported.
Sales for the VW ID.Buzz have been so strong that the German automaker has overtaken Tesla for the most electric car registrations in the country this year. Volkswagen had 41,475 new registrations in Germany through the end of July, while Tesla trailed with 40,289. Mercedes-Benz was in a distant third place with 20,613, per Electrek.
While Volkswagen's ID.4 and ID.5 GTX, both SUVs, have accounted for the majority of its new registrations, the ID.Buzz has accounted for 2,279 of them in the first half of the year, which seems to have given VW the slight edge.
While the rampant sales may seem somewhat surprising for a vehicle that could be so easily customized as a "Glamper Van" designed to be driven to music festivals, it is a sign that all is going according to plan (if slightly behind schedule) for the German company.
In 2010, then-Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said: "The goal is to become the market leader in E-mobility by the year 2018."
For some perspective on just how far electric cars have come in a relatively short time period, Winterkorn also said at the same time that VW was planning to test several vehicles with ranges of 94 miles — the leading EVs on the market now have ranges of over 400 miles.
"Can't lie, I like the Buzz," wrote one commenter on Electrek's coverage of the news. "It's fun, practical, and it may not have competition for a while. My dad keeps talking about it so this may be a mildly successful product with the older crowd."
"This is great news," wrote another. "We don't need one maker dominating the EV market, we need lots of healthy competition. I thank Tesla for kick starting the EV revolution but now we need all Automakers to catch and even beat them. For the planet."
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