Electric cars on the rise: Decline in combustion vehicles in Germany!

Electric cars on the rise: Decline in combustion vehicles in Germany!

In June 2025, a decline in new registrations of passenger cars in Germany was recorded. A total of 256,193 vehicles were newly registered, which corresponds to a decrease of 13.8 percent compared to the previous year. While commercial registrations fell by 15.5 percent and private registrations by 10.2 percent, the Mini brand enjoyed greater popularity with an increase of 32.3 percent. Renowned manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes and Porsche also recorded increases. During this time, Volkswagen recorded a market share of 18.8 percent, but suffered a decline of 20.7 percent, as stadt-bremerhaven.de reports.

The growing influence of Chinese manufacturers on the German market is particularly noticeable. Lynk & Co reported impressive growth of 2,175 percent, followed by XPeng at 1,163 percent and BYD at 294.1 percent, with the latter having achieved a market share of 0.7 percent. In the vehicle segment, SUVs are still the favorites with a market share of 34.2 percent, followed by the compact class with 16.6 percent.

Alternative drives are making history

If you look at the approvals with alternative drives, you can see a promising trend. A total of 411,074 new cars were registered in 2025, with 226,729 vehicles, i.e. 55.2 percent, being equipped with alternative drives. This represents an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year. Electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids in particular are enjoying growing popularity: 107,698 new cars, which make up 26.2 percent of new registrations, came onto the market with electric drives. There was an increase of 36.4 percent compared to the previous year. The majority of newly registered electric cars are purely electric models, which alone accounted for 70,447 units, which corresponds to an increase of 41 percent, as kba.de notes).

The popularity of electric cars coincides with current policy efforts aimed at accelerating the transition from traditional combustion engines to electric alternatives. An EU decision from 2023 stipulates that from 2035 no new petrol and diesel cars will be registered unless they use e-fuels. The vision: There should be 15 million electric cars on the roads in Germany by 2030. The number of electric cars is currently around 1.4 million and their share of the car population is just under 3 percent. In order to achieve the ambitious goal, almost 2 million new electric cars must be registered every year between 2024 and 2030.

The challenges of electromobility

Although the trend is positive, there are still challenges. Many consumers are concerned about the high purchase costs and possible restrictions, such as the limited range of electric cars. Especially since in 2024 around 75 percent of consumers believe that rising electricity prices could increase the operating costs of electric vehicles. However, Statista reports that the charging infrastructure in Germany is constantly being expanded and there are now over 123,400 charging points available. The average charging power is around 35 kilowatts, which makes using electric cars increasingly more pleasant.

In summary, it can be said that the automotive industry in Germany is in the midst of exciting change. The decline in new registrations of combustion vehicles is clearly visible, while electric vehicles are increasingly entering the market and the political framework is further strengthening electromobility. It remains to be seen how this change will develop in the coming months and years.