Electric car sales are stagnating – but the EV accessory trade’s growing rapidly online

The issue of electric cars is really ruffling feathers right now, with sales of EVs currently sluggish in Switzerland, Germany and the EU (linked articles in German). Whether they’re electric car fans, sceptics or even haters, people in almost every family, neighbourhood and workplace have differing opinions on the vehicles. But online retail seems unfazed by the controversy – at least going by the sales figures of Digitec Galaxus and Galaxus Deutschland. Together, the companies have online shops in eight countries and more than four million customers annually. Product categories such as electric car charging stations (+29.1%), charging cables (+29.6%) and charging accessories (+34.5%) grew by around 30 per cent between 2023 and 2024.

Galaxus already sold a significant number of charging stations for electric cars in 2021. As of 2024, however, that number has tripled. «Although electric car sales are currently slowing down in Switzerland and Germany, our EV accessory sales are definitely in the plus,» says Pascal Suter, Portfolio Development Manager at Galaxus. He explains: «In part, this might be down to the general shift from brick-and-mortar to online retail. Nevertheless, we’re working really hard on these product categories and improving our range. We don’t believe electric cars are experiencing a long-term decline. In fact, quite the opposite: we expect the market to continue to grow in future.»

What should you look out for when buying EV accessories? Easy-to-use products and long cables

«Refuelling» electric cars is a little more complicated than filling the tank on a petrol- or diesel-powered car. After all, you’ve got more to think about than just «diesel or super?». The more kilowatts a charger delivers, the faster your car will charge – provided it can handle that amount of power. Martin Jungfer, a Galaxus editor specialising in electromobility, goes into detail on this here:

If you click on the Galaxus e-mobility category, you’ll be taken to an automatically generated article titled «Best-selling EV chargers» (Germany/Switzerland). This rounds up the pros and cons mentioned most frequently in reviews of each top-selling product. According to these reviews, the advantage of having a long charging cable isn’t to be underestimated. You should also go for a model that’s as easy as possible to use and install. After all, who wants to spend hours poring over a manual before using a device? Other advantages mentioned relate to aspects such as displays or the number of RFID cards. RFID cards protect charging stations from unauthorised access. Possible disadvantages of certain EV charging stations include lacking adapters, cheap materials or even inadequate waterproofing.

What are your thoughts on electric cars? Are you an EV convert? Or would you prefer to wait and see how the market develops for now? What’s your favourite accessory for your electric car?